''Shifting NID-related work to home ministry clear violation of constitution''

 

Live Correspondent: Shifting the National Identity (NID) registration related activities from the Election Commission (EC) to the Home Ministry is a clear violation of the constitution, said Sushashoner Janya Nagorik (Shujan) on Sunday. Taking part in a virtual dialogue, Shujan secretary Dr Badiul Alam Mazumder said the EC is a constitutional body.

The government cannot take away the NID card related activities from it through a directive only. The dialogue styled "Government's initiative to place the National Identity registration related activities on the Home Ministry" was organised by Shujan.

It was joined by Shujan president M Hafizuddin Khan, former Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda, former Election Commissioner Dr M Sakhawat Hossain, Justice MA Matin, local government expert Dr Tofail Ahmed, lawyer Dr Shahdin Malik and former Cabinet Secretary Ali Imam Mazumder, among others. Dr Badiul Alam Mazumder said NID cards in Bangladesh have been prepared on the basis of information on voter database in Bangladesh which does not exist in other countries.

So, the issue of voter lists is inter-related with NID cards. "If the NID cards and voter database go to the control of the home ministry, the government will be able to make voter anybody else or drop from the voter list. It provides a scope of using the NID-related activities politically, and also leads to corrupt practices.

Voter lists with photographs is a great achievement of us. Any interference on it will not be a right thing. If the government wants to do anything else, it can start with the birth registration," he said. Expressing deep concern over shifting the National Identity Registration Wing from a constitutional body to the control of a political government, Dr M Sakhawat Hossain said, "It was found that the local political leaders were more interested to make Rohingyas as voters than the EC.

Union Parishad chairmen and members helped Rohingyas to get NIDs providing birth registration certificates. Situation will worsen further if the NID-related activities are placed on a political government." Dr M Sakhawat Hossain said the next general elections will be held through the electronic voter machines (EVMs).

The EC must hold the NID-related activities for holding the next elections through EVMs. Taking part in the dialogue, Dhaka University's law department's professor Dr Asif Nazrul said the EC should try to understand how much it has gone down. It has done wrong things for the government one after another. But, it has made the EC humiliated. "It's right that we have no confidence in the EC. But, it will be more dangerous if the NID-related activities are shifted to the home ministry from the EC.

The EC didn't suppressed people directly, or didn't threaten voters going to their houses. Police under the home ministry did these acts. If they receive the task of preparing the NID cards, it will be dreadful for many of us. I want to tell the CEC and ECs to prove that they have backbones on this crucial issue," he said.

Dhaka, June 06 (campuslive24.com)//BSC

---

---