Himu's Window

The picking up of a madrasa principal and taking him to the Rajshahi-5 lawmaker's home is linked to the Awami League MP's rivalry with a former lawmaker, said local AL leaders. Lawmaker Mansur Rahman and ex-MP Kazi Abdul Wadud Dara, also the general secretary of Rajshahi district AL, have disagreements over the selection of the madrasa governing body president and recruitment of staffers, they added. The two are aspiring for the AL ticket in the constituency for the upcoming general elections and are also trying to establish supremacy in the area, they said. Mansur wanted Nawshad Ali, principal of Rajshahi Medical College, to be the president of the governing body of Biraldaha Syed Karam Ali Darus Sunnah Fazil Madrasa in Puthia upazila. But madrasa Principal Habibur Rahman in February played a role in the selection of Md Dewan Abdus Salek, who is loyal to Wadud, as the governing body president, Mansur alleged. The lawmaker said the principal ignored his demi-official (DO) lett...

Awami League is undeterred by the US visa policy and sanctions, said AL presidium member AHM Khairuzzaman Liton in Rajshahi yesterday. He was speaking at the triennial conference of Rajshahi Jubo League. The day-long conference, chaired by city unit Jubo League president Ramjan Ali, was held on Pathanpara Road. It featured discussions on the US visa policy, where party leaders criticised BNP's reliance on foreign powers and called for strong unity among party members ahead of the polls. Information Minister Hasan Mahmud expressed concern over the US ambassador's comments on media personalities and their inclusion in the visa policy. He viewed this as an interference with the nation's independent media. Meanwhile, JL Chairman Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash highlighted the challenges faced by the organisation due to intra-party feud. He stressed the importance of overcoming these challenges to ensure success in the upcoming elections. No new committee was announced during the ...

Despite owning land on which an office is being built, a faction of the Rajshahi Awami League inaugurated an alternative headquarters on a 14-decimal land leased from the district administration yesterday. The incident caused a stir in local political circles, with many saying the incident has exposed infighting among the ruling party. "Opening a separate office exposed nothing but the division among leaders," Asaduzzaman Asad, a member of the district AL, told The Daily Star. Led by the district AL secretary Abdul Wadud Dara, the office was opened yesterday afternoon at the city's Ranibazar area, through a milad mahfil. Meanwhile, the AL owns a 10-katha land in City Hat area for its office, where the construction of an office building on a 4,500 square-feet area is currently underway. Both the sites have banners claiming the lands to be the office of the district AL. AL lawmaker Enamul Haque said he donated the City Hat land to the district AL in 2017 and currently, he i...

A man staged a solo protest today against "torture and harassment" by Rajshahi-3 lawmaker Md Ayeen Uddin and his aides. Suranjit Sarker, a former Rajshahi AL member, hanging a placard from his neck, drew attention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and demanded justice for his ordeal. He stood at Saheb Bazar Zero Point for two and a half hours since around noon before some of the lawmaker's men drove him away, witnesses say. He later took position in front of the Rajshahi Press Club where he stayed till filing of this report around 5:40pm. Suranjit alleged that in February 2015, Ayeen Uddin, the lawmaker from Rajshahi-3 (Paba-Mohanpur), and his brother-in-law Abdus Salam used their men to brutally beat him. Suranjit said he was then president of Mohanpur upazila unit of Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and helped a local Hindu man in recovery of his land from illegal occupation of the lawmaker and his family members. "This angered the lawmaker," he said, add...