Pro-government aspirant blames attorney general for defeat in SCBA polls

Momtaz Uddin Ahmed Mehedi, who was a pro-government general secretary candidate, has blamed Attorney General Mahbubey Alam for his defeat in the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections.

He said at press conference on Wednesday that he had a ‘personal problem’ with the attorney general that had turned ‘political’ during the poll.

Mahbubey Alam, however, dismissed Mehedi’s allegation as being ‘baseless’ and added that it was an outcome of his ‘frustration’.

“All of us worked for him wholeheartedly,” Mahbubey Alam said.

He said he felt some other person had instigated Mehedi level the charge.

The pro-government lawyers lost the SCBA polls held on Mar 15 and 16 with the pro-BNP lawyers winning again.

Mehedo, a general secretary candidate, lost to BNP Joint Secretary General Mahbub Uddin Khokon by around 400 votes.

“Most candidates of my panel and I lost because of a combined conspiracy of Mahbubey Alam and Mahbubu Uddin Khokon,” Mehedi said on Wednesday.

He alleged Alam had discouraged voters to vote for him, as he had been the general secretary once.

He also alleged that the attorney general was behind the confrontation between two factions of pro-government lawyers.

He alleged the association was being wrecked by Alam and Khokon.

He also said pro-Awami League lawyers would not be able to win the SCBA polls so long was Alam was the attorney general.

In the 2012-13 SCBA polls, Mehedi was elected general secretary. Pro-BNP lawyers won most of the other posts, including that of the president.

Mahbubey Alam was the attorney general then.