Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Joint General Secretary of Awami League Dr. Hasan Mahmud said that the government is serious enough about Begum Khaleda Zia's health, but BNP is playing politics over Begum Khaleda Zia's health.

After inaugurating the newly launched cable-car (ropeway) at Sheikh Russel Aviary Park in Chattogram's Rangunia on Saturday evening, the Information minister said this in response to reporters' questions about BNP Vice Chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu's statement that the government is trying to kill Begum Khaleda Zia.

He said, 'Every time Khaleda Zia had gone to the hospital, BNP said if Khaleda Zia is not sent abroad, her life is in danger and it will be difficult to save her. But every time by the grace of Allah, she returned home after treatment and service of Bangladeshi doctors in the hospital. Still, the government is doing whatever it takes to ensure that Begum Khaleda Zia receives the highest level of treatment.'

Kazi Habibbul Awal Commission is indifferent in the implementation of Election Commission (EC) rules. In response to the comments made by prominent media persons, the constitutional body said that their statements on talk shows and various newspapers may mislead the public. That is why the constitutional institution has highlighted the actual position of the laws and rules of the Election Commission.

On Saturday (December 2), the EC's real position was highlighted through the Election Commission's public relations wing circular.

According to the EC, some of the dignitaries are commenting in various electronic media talk shows or newspapers that the Election Commission is lax in enforcing the code of conduct. Such concocted statements by prominent figures in the media can mislead the public. By undermining public confidence in the Election Commission as a constitutional body, it may negatively affect the upcoming parliamentary elections, which is not desirable at all. Because of this, the actual position of laws and regulations is revealed.

According to the agency, there is a statutory regulation called Political Candidates Conduct Rules, 2008 to regulate the conduct of campaigning in general elections and by-elections of the Jatiya Sangsad(JS). According to rule no. 5 of these rules, political parties, nominated candidates or independent candidates must follow the instructions given in rules no. 6 to 14 of the rules. In this case, the main subject of the code of conduct is political parties and candidates. A candidate can be a party nominee or an independent. Rule 12 of the rules says 21 days before. This means candidates will not get more than 21 days to campaign.

Regarding the rules, the EC also said that no candidate nominated by any political party or independent is a candidate within the meaning of the Act and Code of Conduct until the candidature is finalized through the Returning Officer. Election campaigning shall take place after scrutinizing of Returning Officers, decision of appeals, etc., finalizing the list of candidates for a constituency and allotment of symbols to open the field for campaigning. Then all the candidates in the constituency will be equally one candidate. From that time the Code of Conduct will apply to them.

Rule 12 regarding conduct prohibits any election campaign by or on behalf of a candidate 21 days before. The campaign period for the candidates has been fixed from December 18 this year to January 5, 2024 at 8 am. No person is legally eligible to become a candidate before December 18. As a result, there is no opportunity to campaign for or against any candidate in any constituency.

In order to make the 12th Jatiya Sangsad(JS) elections fair, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Mymensingh has been withdrawn and the DC of Sunamganj has been transferred.

This information was informed in a notification signed by Bhaskar Debnath Bappi, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration by the order of the President on Saturday (December 2).

In the letter, it was informed that the Ministry of Public Administration has issued an order to withdraw the DC of Mymensingh and at the same time transfer the DC of Sunamganj to Mymensingh as per the instructions of the EC in connection with the upcoming 12th JS Elections.

When asked about this, EC Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath said that this decision was taken in the wake of the request of the commission. Because if we don't want to, there will be no transfer now. Also, we wanted to withdraw the DC of Mymensingh.

As per the schedule announced by the EC, the time for submission of nomination papers ended on Thursday (November 30). The Returning Officer will scrutinize the nomination papers of the candidates from December 1 to 4. Appeals against the decision of the Returning Officer can be filed and disposed of in the Commission from 5 to 15th December; last date for withdrawal of candidature is 17th December. The Returning Officers will allot the symbols on December 18. The election campaign will continue till 8 am on January 5. Polling will be held on January 7, 2024 (Sunday).

This time, the total number of voters in the JS election is 11 crore 96 lakh 91 thousand 633 voters. The Election Commission (EC) released the final vote list for the JS election on November 2. According to EC data, 6 crore 7 lakh 71 thousand 579 male voters are among the total voters this time while 5 crore 89 lakh 19 thousand 202 female voters. And the number of Hijra voters is 852.

Earthquake was felt in different parts of the country including the capital Dhaka. The magnitude of the earthquake was 5.5 on the Richter scale. Its origin was 45 km south of Cumilla. No damage was initially reported.
 
The tremor was felt around 9:35 am on Saturday (December 2).

The people of Jamalpur are happy getting the Vijay Express train on the first day of the month of Vijay. So people crowded the platform to welcome the train. The passengers on the train were welcomed with flowers and sweets. The common people of the region are happy and excited to get the train after a long decade of agitation.

When the Vijay Express train arrived at Jamalpur Junction railway station at around 8:30 pm on Friday (December 01), locals including Awami League Organizing Secretary Mirza Azam and former Principal Secretary to the prime minister Abul Kalam Azad welcomed the passengers by distributing sweets and flowers.

Meanwhile, the whole station area was filled with joy. The people of several nearby districts will benefit from the Vijay Express train from Jamalpur station.

It is known that the Vijay Express train from Mymensingh to Chattogram was launched in 2014. This train has 227 seats for Jamalpur. Seat fares are fixed at a minimum of Tk. 430 to Tk. 1527. The train will leave Jamalpur at 8:10 PM 6 days a week and reach Chattogram at around 5:00 AM.

Passengers said that earlier they had to go to Mymensingh and wait to board the Vijay Express train. It was a waste of money and time. Save valuable time and money by leaving this train from Jamalpur. Thousands of students, businessmen and general passengers traveling on this route will benefit from this. Vijay Express train will be extended from Jamalpur to Cox's Bazar via Chattogram. They will get more benefits.

However, the station authorities said that based on the demand of the passengers, they will discuss with the authorities to increase the number of seats and extend the train to Cox's Bazar.

Jamalpur Railway Junction Station Master Asaduzzaman said, today the desired Vijay Express train has arrived among us. With the arrival of the Vijay Express train, the hopes of the people of Jamalpur have been fulfilled. People of Jamalpur can travel to Chattogram at a very low cost.