Next polls under present government: Tofail

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed today said the next general election will be held under the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Election Commission (EC) will be given all cooperation in this regard.

"The next general election will be held under the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on any day within 90 days before January 29, 2019 and the government will give the EC all cooperation in this regard," he said while inaugurating Khayer Hat 30-bed Hospital in Dakkhin Joynagar Union of Daulatkhan upazila here.

The EC will arrange a free and fair election acceptable to all, Tofail, also an Awami League Advisory Council member, said and expressed the hope that BNP will participate in that election.

BNP should join the elections happily because its leaders claim that they are very popular and Awami League will get less seats in the election, he said.

Tofail said the government has been working to reach health services to the door-step of the people. Awami League established 13,000 community clinics but BNP shut down those clinics, he said, adding that those clinics were set up when Awami League returned to power in 2009.

Civil Surgeon Dr Rathindranath Majumder chaired the programme while Ali Azam Mukul, MP, Barisal division health directorate director Dr Mahbubur Rahman, Zilla Parishad Chairman Abdul Momin Tulu, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Selimuddin and Police Super Md Moktar Hossain, among others, addressed it.

Source: BSS