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Download PDF The Returning Officer’s Office of Barisal did not disqualify the nomination papers of former BNP whip Shahidul Huq Jamal and two other candidates even though a Bangladesh Bank (BB) report listed them as loan defaulters, our Barisal correspondent reports.
In Gazipur, two AL leaders sent a letter to the chief election commissioner yesterday asking him to disqualify a four-party candidate on the grounds of him being a loan defaulter.
The Returning Officer’s Office of Barisal cancelled 13 nomination papers of seven constituencies in the district as the candidates were listed as loan defaulters in a report published by Credit Information Bureau (CIB) of the BB.
However, the CIB report also listed Jamal, AKM Faizul Huq, former minister and a rebel candidate of Awami League (AL) and Shahed Akon Samrat, local leader of BNP’s youth front, as loan defaulters.
A fax copy of the CIB report was sent to the Barisal Returning Officer’s Office from the BB late Wednesday afternoon.
Sources said Omar Faruk, additional divisional commissioner of Barisal and returning officer in charge of the Banaripara-Swarupkathi constituency, scrutinised the nomination papers. Omar Faruk was the personal secretary to Shahidul Huq Jamal during the immediate past BNP-Jamaat alliance government.
Asked about the matter, Omar Faruk said he declared their nomination papers valid since he did not get the CIB report on time and none of the candidates raised any question about them.
He said, “The Bangladesh Bank did not send the list to us before the end of the scrutiny time saying the three candidates are loan defaulters. We can’t accept anything after 5:00pm.”
Meanwhile, Education Affairs Secretary of AL’s Gazipur district unit Amanat Hossain Khan and General Secretary of Kapasia upazila unit Ruhul Amin yesterday sent a letter to the chief election commissioner asking him to cancel the candidature of four-party candidate of Gazipur-4 constituency Brigadier (retd) ASM Hannan Shah.
In the letter, the AL leaders said the district returning officer declared Hannan’s nomination paper valid even though BB in a circular listed him as a loan defaulter.
Sources said Hannan’s son Reza Shah took a loan from Agrani Bank, Gazipur branch, and became a defaulter. Hannan was the guarantor of the loan.
The BB declared Hannan a loan defaulter and sent a letter to the returning officer on November 30.
On Wednesday the district returning officer Syed Mizanur Rahman disqualified Hannan’s nomination papers.
But Hannan appeared before the returning officer with the manager of the branch Mosharraf Hossain within half an hour and submitted a no objection certificate (NOC), that said Hannan had rescheduled his loan on December 24.
Following the NOC, the returning officer declared him valid to contest in the election.
AL in the letter said without the clearance of BB, no bank has any jurisdiction to clear off anyone.
Meanwhile, the nomination papers of Ruhul Amin Howlader, Jatiya Party secretary general, for the Patuakhali-1 constituency was declared valid following BB’s clearance that he is not a loan defaulter, UNB reports.
The Election Commission (EC) sources said the nomination papers of Hawladar was disqualified on Wednesday on the ground of loan default.
An EC source yesterday said BB told the concerned returning officer at 6:00pm Wednesday that it was a case of mistaken identity and Howladar was not a defaulter rather it was another Ruhul Amin who was a defaulter.
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