Jumbangla Desk: The government has given a 9-point warning to the Election Commission (EC) for attending any event. Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration. Md. Mokhlas ur Rahman recently gave a letter to EC Secretary Shafiul Azam with such instructions.

In this, he mentioned, considering the context of the current political change in the country, government employees have to perform their duties with more caution. Recently, the news of the activities of some offices at the field level has been published in various media, creating an embarrassing situation, which is unintended. In the prevailing circumstances, I am of the opinion that an instruction may be issued to the Attached Offices and Field Offices under your Ministry/Department on the following points or by adding some other points at your discretion:

1) To finalize the invitation by gathering detailed information about the activities of the host institution/organization before accepting the final invitation to attend any event in his jurisdiction;

2) Gather information about other guests invited to the event to avoid controversy; Avoiding the event if a controversial person is on the guest list;

3) To check whether there is any objectionable/controversial material in the description, logo or slogan etc. of the event invitation/banner/leaflet/flag/any other printed paper;

4) Enlisting the assistance of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to ensure the security of the event;

5) Thoroughly check own event invitations/banners/letters/power point presentation/decorations/fronts/certificates/trophymedals/souvenirs etc.; To ensure that all such documents or memorandums do not contain any objectionable or controversial material or statements;

6) To be careful not to observe all the days which have been declared null and void by the Government through Gazette Notification;

7) Taking action to remove all memorials/crests/photos/souvenirs etc. from all offices of previous years of the days declared invalid by the government;

8) Prepared reading of written speech for every formal (ordinary) meeting/event; Abstain as much as possible from uttering any words/ slogans/ chants/ sentences outside of written speech;

9) To keep himself and all colleagues in his jurisdiction away from any rumour.

He also mentioned in the letter, I hope that the colleagues will be careful to discharge their duties more carefully if instructions are issued by you through an informal letter to the offices/organizations and field level offices under your jurisdiction. Requesting your personal initiative in this regard.

After receiving this letter, the EC Secretary directed the Additional Secretary to take appropriate action.