National Citizen Party’s (NCP) chief organiser for the northern region and candidate for member of parliament for Panchagarh-1 constituency, Sarjis Alam, has said that every agency and institution in Bangladesh that deals with corruption should investigate him.
“If any corruption allegation can be made against me over the past year and a half,” the NCP leader said, “I am ready to accept whatever legal action will be taken as a consequence.”
He said this at a press conference at the district NCP party office in the Lichutala area of Panchagarh town on Wednesday. Labeling corruption allegations against him as rumours and propaganda brought about by “certain political parties”, he called upon the government and the Election Commission to take legal action against the spread of false information on social media.
He said, “On social media, some activists are running campaigns either driven by purpose or to implement the agenda of some political party. It seems to me their objective is to create controversy around those who led the July Uprising.”
They are either engaged in a deep conspiracy to rehabilitate Awami League or are spreading propaganda in exchange for money. “The government must take action against these. Otherwise, it will become a major obstacle to holding a fair election in the future,” he added.
Regarding discrepancies in the affidavit information, Sarjis said, “Since major aspects of the affidavit were correct, the returning officer has declared my candidacy valid. However, regarding the amount of income shown in the income tax return, the lawyer made a little mistake; due to a typing error, it mentioned 28 lakhs instead of 9 lakhs. This was an unintentional mistake. Subsequently, we have corrected it. This was done by following the legal process.”
“Earlier, when I used to criticise Chhatra League or the government, they used to think I was Jamaat or Shibir. They even called my house to find out if I was associated with them. We were at the forefront of the uprising; DGFI and DB took us and tortured us, persecuted us; yet we did not deviate from our pathm” Sarjis added.
The NCP leader also brought allegations against BNP, saying, “BNP’s grassroots leaders and activists are threatening those joining NCP. They are going door to door and threatening them. If they are showing off power and muscle strength, showing the influence of black money right now, then I see absolutely no possibility of a fair election in the future. The government and the Election Commission must take action against these.”
