Rajshahi BNP councils seem uncertain as feud deepens

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

 

The councils of BNP Rajshahi city and district units have now become uncertain as intra-party feuds deepened further yesterday.

Leaders and activists loyal to former state minister Kabir Hossain and former lawmaker Nadim Mostafa staged demonstration in the city yesterday against BNP's Organising Secretary Mizanur Rahman Minu who, they said, arbitrarily formed committees at different upazilas, wards and municipalities without following the party constitution.

They urged the high command to save the party from the clutches of Mizanur Rahman Minu.

Minu refuted the allegations, saying the protesters are young in politics. "We will be able to reach a consensus before the councils," he said.

In the protest meeting at Shaheb Bazar zero point, district BNP joint conveners Delwar Hossain and Motiur Rahman alleged that at least 1,000 BNP leaders and workers could not be enrolled as members of the city unit as membership forms were distributed among the selected persons.

Former city BNP organising secretary Mamunur Rashid, who presiding over the protest rally, demanded cancellation of the convening committees as he claimed that a number of controversial persons, including a collaborator of Pakistani occupation forces, have been included in the committees.

They said the BNP is at stake in the hands of Minu. In order to establish his full control over the party, Mino is not willing to give chances to the emerging leaders, the aggrieved leaders alleged.

Meanwhile, First Joint Convener Nadim Mostafa in a letter to party Chairperson Khaleda Zia recently alleged that Minu without his signature got approved a 51-member district convening committee that included at least 20 controversial persons.

The controversial persons, he alleged, were plaintiffs or witnesses to different criminal cases filed against him and other BNP leaders during the former caretaker government and one of them, Abdul Wahed Mollah, was a collaborator of Pakistani occupation forces in 1971.

He alleged Minu has destroyed the BNP by patronising those who were engaged in land grabbing, tender manipulation and criminal activities during his mayorship.

Minu is destroying party in the district too by making his loyalist Azizur Rahman as convener who ignored a large number of leaders while forming committees at different upazilas and municipalities.

When contacted, Minu said the allegations are not true. "There are grievances among some leaders who did not get chances in any committees. We are trying to bridge gap among us".

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