Jumbangla Desk: The Ministry of Public Administration has given 9 urgent instructions to the Election Commission (EC). These instructions are asked to be followed before attending any event.

Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration. Md. Mokhlas ur Rahman recently sent a letter to EC Secretary Shafiul Azam with these instructions.

In this letter, he mentioned that in view of the changing context of the current political situation of the country, government employees need to perform their duties with more caution. Recently, the news of the activities of some field offices has been published in various media, creating an embarrassing situation, which is not intended. In the existing situation, I think that an instruction may be issued to the attached offices and field offices under your Ministry/Department on the following matters or by adding some other matters 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 its jurisdiction;
2. Also collect information about other guests invited to the event in order 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. Enlist the assistance of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to ensure event security;
5. Thoroughly check own event invitations/banners/letters/power point presentations/decorations/certificates/trophy-medals/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 celebrate those days which have been declared invalid by the Government through Gazette Notification;
7. To take action to remove all memorials/crests/pictures/souvenirs etc. from all offices of the previous years of the days declared invalid by the Government;
8. Prepare written speeches for every formal meeting/event; Abstain as much as possible from uttering any words/slogans/sounds/sentences outside of written speech;
9. To keep himself and all colleagues in his jurisdiction away from any kind of rumour.

He also mentioned in the letter that he hopes, if instructions are issued on your behalf through an informal letter to the departments/organizations and field offices under your jurisdiction, the colleagues will be careful to discharge their duties more carefully. Requesting your personal initiative in this regard.

It is also known that after receiving this instruction, the EC Secretary has instructed the Additional Secretary to take appropriate action.