The opposition Awami League was dismayed at Bangladesh former president Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed's "unwarranted" statement which its leaders said intended to show the party in a bad light to help the present government, not to enlighten the public.

"The statement seems to be motivated by a desire to divert public attention from the worsening law and order and economic situation in the country," said an AL counter-statement on Sunday.

In the joint statement, Awami League acting president Abdus Samad Azad and general secretary Zillur Rahman noted that Justice Shahabuddin issued the statement three months after the elections, which "added to the controversy about his role as president" during the polls held on October 1.

They said the Awami League "has no desire either to start a new debate or prolong a controversy that gives no pleasure to anybody in the country".

The AL parliamentary party elected him president.

"Let the matter rest there. History will judge how fairly and objectively he carried out the duties and responsibilities entrusted to him. With the passage of time it will be easier to judge how he repaid the trust reposed in him by Sheikh Hasina," the statement said.

It observed that a number of highly-respected and senior editors and columnists made critical analyses of his role during the critical days preceding and following the elections.

Justice Shahabuddin has chosen to attack them in the harshest language. Members of the public who read these columns will no doubt decide whether these are "examples of falsehood and distortion".

The AL leaders said the journalists concerned would no doubt defend their honour and integrity as they deem fit.

"As far as the Awami League is concerned, there were indeed some scattered remarks about the role played in the elections by different authorities, including the president, but these represented expressions of disappointment about the irregularities and shortcomings during the polls.

"His angry remark that in the eyes of the Awami League 'he is an angel if everything is done according to their desire, otherwise he is a devil' is not a fair statement," said the AL leaders.

The AL did not win the 1991 elections when he was president and yet Sheikh Hasina did not consider him to be a "devil".

Instead she regarded him to be an upright man and requested him to be president once again. Perhaps he will realise the unfairness of his remark if he reflects calmly on its implications, the statement added.

Justice Shahabuddin has spoken about an alleged request made by Awami League leaders to cancel the October elections and hold fresh polls.

Everybody knew that it was the election commission and not the president who had the power to cancel the elections. "So why should anyone request him to do something that he could not have done?"

The Awami League leaders admitted the party did make a public demand for the cancellation of the elections "vitiated by rigging, violence and intimidation".

"He has thus made an unwarranted comment for the sake of showing the AL in a bad light, not for enlightening the public."