• About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
Friday, June 6, 2025
No Result
View All Result
Northeast News - Northeast India news 24×7
  • Assam
  • Meghalaya
  • Tripura
  • Mizoram
  • Manipur
  • Nagaland
  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ‘Metro In Dino’: Anurag Basu’s film promises soul-stirring tales amidst complexity of urban life

    ‘Metro In Dino’: Anurag Basu’s film promises soul-stirring tales amidst complexity of urban life

    Bollywood actor Anupam Kher pens fourth book ‘Different But No Less’

    Bollywood actor Anupam Kher pens fourth book ‘Different But No Less’

    Assam’s 9-year-old Binita Chetry shines as second runner-up on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’

    Assam’s 9-year-old Binita Chetry shines as second runner-up on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’

    ‘Housefull 5’ trailer out: Akshay Kumar–starrer comedy-thriller to release on this date

    ‘Housefull 5’ trailer out: Akshay Kumar–starrer comedy-thriller to release on this date

    Assam: Vihaan Upadhyay’s short film ‘Sandwich’ bags Best Film Award at Global Road Safety Festival

    Assam: Vihaan Upadhyay’s short film ‘Sandwich’ bags Best Film Award at Global Road Safety Festival

    Rapper Raja Kumari becomes first Indian-origin musician to win American Music Award

    Rapper Raja Kumari becomes first Indian-origin musician to win American Music Award

    Paresh Rawal responds to Akshay Kumar’s legal notice over ‘Hera Pheri 3’ exit

    Paresh Rawal responds to Akshay Kumar’s legal notice over ‘Hera Pheri 3’ exit

    Filmmaker Karan Johar makes podcast debut with ‘Live Your Best Life with Karan Johar’

    Filmmaker Karan Johar makes podcast debut with ‘Live Your Best Life with Karan Johar’

    UK China Film Colab secures distribution rights for Karbi film ‘Kangbo Aloti’ in UK, China

    UK China Film Colab secures distribution rights for Karbi film ‘Kangbo Aloti’ in UK, China

  • Opinion
  • Neighbours
  • Assam
  • Meghalaya
  • Tripura
  • Mizoram
  • Manipur
  • Nagaland
  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ‘Metro In Dino’: Anurag Basu’s film promises soul-stirring tales amidst complexity of urban life

    ‘Metro In Dino’: Anurag Basu’s film promises soul-stirring tales amidst complexity of urban life

    Bollywood actor Anupam Kher pens fourth book ‘Different But No Less’

    Bollywood actor Anupam Kher pens fourth book ‘Different But No Less’

    Assam’s 9-year-old Binita Chetry shines as second runner-up on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’

    Assam’s 9-year-old Binita Chetry shines as second runner-up on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’

    ‘Housefull 5’ trailer out: Akshay Kumar–starrer comedy-thriller to release on this date

    ‘Housefull 5’ trailer out: Akshay Kumar–starrer comedy-thriller to release on this date

    Assam: Vihaan Upadhyay’s short film ‘Sandwich’ bags Best Film Award at Global Road Safety Festival

    Assam: Vihaan Upadhyay’s short film ‘Sandwich’ bags Best Film Award at Global Road Safety Festival

    Rapper Raja Kumari becomes first Indian-origin musician to win American Music Award

    Rapper Raja Kumari becomes first Indian-origin musician to win American Music Award

    Paresh Rawal responds to Akshay Kumar’s legal notice over ‘Hera Pheri 3’ exit

    Paresh Rawal responds to Akshay Kumar’s legal notice over ‘Hera Pheri 3’ exit

    Filmmaker Karan Johar makes podcast debut with ‘Live Your Best Life with Karan Johar’

    Filmmaker Karan Johar makes podcast debut with ‘Live Your Best Life with Karan Johar’

    UK China Film Colab secures distribution rights for Karbi film ‘Kangbo Aloti’ in UK, China

    UK China Film Colab secures distribution rights for Karbi film ‘Kangbo Aloti’ in UK, China

  • Opinion
  • Neighbours
No Result
View All Result
Northeast News - Northeast India news 24×7
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

BEC accepts AL MP’s nomination even as his ‘cooling off’ period as ex-bureaucrat is yet to end

Sajjadul Hassan was a PMO senior secretary till Jan 10, 2020, before he took up an assignment at govt-controlled Biman Bangladesh on Jan 27 the same year. He retired in Jan 2023 and must serve a compulsory one-year post retirement leave period

Chandan NandybyChandan Nandy
December 4, 2023
in Politics
BEC accepts AL MP’s nomination even as his ‘cooling off’ period as ex-bureaucrat is yet to end

File photo of Bangladesh Election Commission office.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In complete violation of electoral laws and regulations, a former senior secretary at the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Office and chairman of the chairman of Biman Bangladesh’s Board of Directors in January 2020 has been nominated on an Awami League ticket even as he does not fulfill the mandatory three-year “cooling off” period since his superannuation.

In a significant judgment today, the Bangladesh High Court ruled that no government employee can run for election if they have not waited for a mandatory three-year ‘cooling off’ period.

Born on January 1, 1961, Sajjadul Hassan served in various capacities as a bureaucrat and steadily rose up the ranks before being appointed as senior secretary at the PMO on December 25, 2019.

A Bangladesh Administrative Service (BAS) officer of the 1985 batch, Hassan retired from the civil service while in the capacity as senior secretary at the PMO on January 10, 2020.

ALSO READ Explosive extracts: Gross human and labour rights abuses in Bangladesh, says US State Department report

Hassan ‘won’ the Netrakona-4 constituency in an uncontested byelection held in July this year.

At the end of his tenure, Hassan was appointed chairman of Biman Bangladesh’s Board of Directors on January 27, 2020 by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism. While serving in this position, Hassan took decisions to retain government control over Biman Bangladesh.

Hassan completed his term at Biman Bangladesh in January 2023, following which he had to serve a compulsory one-year post retirement leave (PLA) period with full salary.

Hassan was picked by the Awami League to contest the Netrokona-4 constituency where other party hopefuls also threw in their hats in the electoral ring. Following the release of the official list of 298 nominees, the Awami League allowed “dummy candidates” to also contest the elections which are scheduled to be held on January 7.

The nomination papers of several popular and winnable Awami League leaders have been rejected or cancelled across numerous constituencies although about 400 “dummy candidates” continue to be in the electoral fray.

“The move to reject the nomination papers of winnable candidates is to pave the way for victory of those who are favoured by Sheikh Hasina,” a senior Awami League leader said on the condition of anonymity.

This is the first time that Hassan has been given an Awami League ticket to contest the general elections following the July 2023 uncontested polls that he ‘won’. But Article 12(1) of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972 disqualifies former public servants from contesting national elections in three years of their resignation or retirement from service.

ALSO READ Bangladesh CEC Awal continues to defer meeting with Dhaka EU delegation

The RPO rule states clearly that “a person shall be disqualified for election as or for being, a member, if he… has resigned or retired from the service of the republic or of any statutory public authority or of the defence service, unless a period of three years has elapsed since the date of his resignation or retirement”. This rule is also applicable to officials who are appointed on contractual terms.

A cooling off period is said to be applicable after an official retires or resigns from service to avoid chances of conflict of interests and to prevent influence peddling by external individuals.

More importantly, this period helps assures the general public that the official continues to be accountable and his integrity remains above suspicion. The cooling off period provision also helps prevent the leakage of sensitive information that a retired officer carries with him while in service.

Significantly, the Bangladesh Election Commission (BEC), which should have moved swiftly to disqualify Hassan after he submitted his nomination papers, has chosen to overlook the fact that his cooling off period is yet to end.

Speaking to Northeast News, a former BEC member said that “acceptance of Hassan’s nomination papers is certainly a violation of RPO’s provisions. He does not stand to be qualified to contest the elections and his papers must be rejected forthwith by the BEC”.

Tags: Bangladesh Election CommissionBangladesh High CourtBiman Bangladesh
ADVERTISEMENT
Next Post
13 dead in fresh violence between unidentified armed groups in Manipur’s Tengnoupal

13 dead in fresh violence between unidentified armed groups in Manipur's Tengnoupal

Christmas: A celebration of love, joy and transformation

Christmas: A celebration of love, joy and transformation

IIT-Guwahati signs MoU with Meghalaya for subject-specific training under SSA

IIT-Guwahati signs MoU with Meghalaya for subject-specific training under SSA

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Us

Northeast News is a digital only news platform covering Northeast India news 24×7. As Northeast India states – Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh hardly get any news coverage in the mainstream media, we are here to be ‘Vocal for Local’.

Category

  • Articles
  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • Assam
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Manipur
  • Meghalaya
  • Mizoram
  • Nagaland
  • Neighbours
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Tripura
  • Uncategorized

Site Links

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Assam
  • Meghalaya
  • Tripura
  • Mizoram
  • Manipur
  • Nagaland
  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Neighbours

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.