BNP leaders
Pro-BNP professionals ask party to mobilize public support
Leaders of pro-BNP professional bodies on Saturday urged the party policymakers to mobilize public support in favour of the party’s demand for holding the next general election under a non-party government.
On the second consecutive day of the views-exchange meeting with BNP top leaders, they also said it will not be possible to lead any movement to success without the spontaneous support and involvement of common people.
A journalist who was present at the meeting said the professional body leaders urged the BNP high-command to create a solid ground for a strong movement with different pro-people programmes.
He said they also advised BNP to remain careful so that no one can divert the movement to a different direction by resorting to violence.
Also read: Caretaker is a must, no more game: BNP
As part of their move to take opinions about their next course of action ahead of the 12th parliamentary election, BNP policymakers sat with the leaders of 12 professional bodies, including Sammilita Peshajibi Parishad, Jatiya Press Club, BFUJ, DRU, Zia Parishad, teachers forums of Dhaka University, Chattogram University, Buet, Rajshahi University, Mymensigh Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Ruet, Khulna University, Nationalist Teachers’ Forum, G-9, Haji Danesh University of Science and Technology, Sylhet Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Gazipur National University and Open University, at BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku were present at the meeting while party acting chairman Tarique Rahman joined it virtually from London.
After a series of closed-door meetings with the party’s central and grassroots leaders, BNP policymakers also took the opinions of the leaders of 20 professional bodies on Friday.
Also read: BNP won’t join election with AL in power: Abbas
BNP began the series of meetings on September 14 last to know the views of party rank and file and pro-BNP professionals about the party’s next course of action ahead of the next general election.
The party had six closed-door meetings in two phases with BNP vice-chairmen, advisory council members with joint secretaries general, organising secretaries, assistant organising secretaries, secretaries, executive committee members, leaders of the party’s different associate bodies and presidents of different district units.
The party also sat with journalists and university teachers on September 29.
BNP policymakers to sit with leaders of professional bodies Oct 8
BNP policymakers now have decided to sit with the leaders of different professional bodies holding six closed-door meetings with the party’s central and grassroots leaders.
The meeting will be held on October 8 at party chairperson’s Gulshan office to work out its next course of action ahead of the 12th parliamentary election.
A meeting of BNP standing committee held on Saturday took the decision, said a press release, signed by party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, on Sunday.
Fakhrul also presented a brief report on the outcomes of the party’s six meetings with the party rank and file held in the last two weeks.
Read: BNP policymakers in another closed-door meeting
As per the decision of the meeting, BNP will also arrange a discussion meeting on the importance of holding the national elections under a non-party neutral government on October 1 at the Jatiya Press Club.
Earlier, the party had six closed-door meetings in two phases with BNP vice-chairmen, advisory council members on with joint secretaries general, organising secretaries, assistant organising secretaries, secretaries, executive committee members, leaders of the party’s different associate bodies and presidents of different district units.
Read: BNP plans series of party central leaders’ meetings
The meetings were held as part of the party’s planned series of meetings with BNP rank and file to know their views about the party’s next course of action ahead of the next general election.
BNP formed a 502-member national executive committee through its sixth national council on March 19, 2016.
BNP grassroots leaders want Dhaka leaders to get ready for movement
A group of BNP grassroots leaders on Thursday urged the party policymakers to prepare the party’s all units in Dhaka for waging a movement for forcing the government to quit and hold the 12th parliamentary polls under a neutral administration.
In a closed-door meeting, they also said BNP will not get benefits by forming an electoral alliance with the ‘one-man-show’ parties.
The BNP grassroots leaders, however, said the party should make efforts to bring all the opposition parties under a single platform to launch a simultaneous movement, led by BNP, with a demand for the restoration of an election-time neutral government, a party leader, who was present at the meeting, told UNB.
He said most of the leaders also urged the party high-command to take a tough stance on not joining any election under the current government and intensify diplomatic efforts to get the international community’s support in favour of their demand for a polls-time neutral government.
BNP top leaders sat with its executive committee members under Khulna, Rajshahi and Barishal divisions today (Thursday), wrapping up their planned six series of meetings with the central and grassroots leaders.
Read: BNP policymakers in another closed-door meeting
Party sources said 86 leaders participated in the meeting and 65 of them gave their opinions about how BNP should get ready for an anti-government movement and the next general election.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Selima Rahman and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku were present at the meeting. Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman virtually joined it from London.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mirza Fakhrul said in their six meetings in two phases around 300 central and grassroots leaders talked about their organisational issues and how to ‘restore’ democracy in the country free Khaleda Zia from jail, and get rid of the current ‘authoritarian’ government.
He said they took note of the speeches of all the leaders and those will be discussed in the meeting of their standing committee to work out the next course of action. “We’ll let you know later about what programmes are taken in our meeting."
As part of their second round of series meetings, the BNP top leaders sat with the party’s executive committee members under Dhaka and Faridpur organisational divisions on Tuesday and with the leaders under Chattogram, Cumilla, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Rangpur divisions on Wednesday.
Read: BNP plans series of party central leaders’ meetings
Earlier, the BNP policymakers had three closed-door meetings with party vice-chairmen, advisory council members, joint secretaries general, organising secretaries, assistant organising secretaries and secretaries and the top leaders of the party’s different associate bodies last week. A total of 491 party leaders joined the six meetings.
The meetings were held as part of the party’s planned series of meetings with BNP rank and file to know their views about the party’s next course of action ahead of the next general election.
BNP formed a 502-member national executive committee through its sixth national council on March 19, 2016.
BNP held its last executive committee meeting at Le Meridian Hotel on February 3, 2018, just four days before Khaleda was sent to jail in a graft case.
BNP grassroots leaders want time-befitting movement strategy
A group of BNP grassroots leaders on Wednesday urged the party policymakers to devise a well-thought-out plan and time-befitting strategy to outsmart the government through an effective movement for a credible national election.
In a closed-door meeting, they also said it will not be possible to succeed by waging a movement in the same style of the 90s and 2013 as they fear the government will come up with a new strategy to win the 12th parliamentary election with the help of administration.
A party leader, who was present at the meeting, also said most of the grassroots leaders opined that the party's all units and associate bodies should be overhauled by incorporating dedicated and active leaders.
He said they called upon the party high-command not to join any election under the current government and take effective steps to bring the opposition political parties under a single platform to realise their demand for the restoration of election-time neutral government.
Read: BNP policymakers in another closed-door meeting
As part of their second phase of series meetings with the grassroots leaders, BNP top leaders sat with its executive committee members under Chattogram, Cumilla, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Rangpur divisions on the second day today (Wednesday).
Party sources said 85 leaders participated in the meeting and 63 of them gave their opinions about how BNP should get ready for an anti-government movement and the next general election.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir along with standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Selima Rahman and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku was present at the meeting. Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman virtually joined it from London.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mirza Fakhrul said they had nearly a six-hour-long meeting where party leaders talked about how to get rid of the current ‘despotic’ rule and establish people’s rights.
He said they discussed the issues relating to national politics, the country’s current situation and BNP’s organisational matters.
BNP policymakers will also hold the third meeting with members of the executive committee under Khulna, Rajshahi and Barishal divisions on Thursday.
Read: BNP plans series of party central leaders’ meetings
On Tuesday, the BNP top leaders had a meeting with party’s executive committee members under Dhaka and Faridpur organisational divisions.
Earlier, the BNP policymakers had three closed-door meetings with party vice-chairmen, advisory council members, joint secretaries general, organising secretaries, assistant organising secretaries and secretaries and top leaders of the party’s different associate bodies last week.
The meetings were held as part of the party’s planned series of meetings with BNP rank and file to know their views about the party’s next course of action ahead of the next general election.
BNP formed a 502-member national executive committee through its sixth national council on March 19, 2016.
BNP grassroots leaders want unity of opposition parties
BNP grassroots leaders on Tuesday urged the party policymakers to give focus on bringing the opposition political parties under a single platform to wage a strong movement for the restoration of election-time government.
In a closed-door meeting, they also opined that the party high-command should intensify its diplomatic and political efforts to mount pressure on the government to take steps for holding a credible national election and forming a neutral Election Commission.
A party leader, who was present at the meeting, also said most of the grassroots leaders highlighted the importance of promptly overhauling the party for getting success in the anti-government movement.
As part of their second phase of series meetings with the grassroots leaders, BNP top leaders first sat with its executive committee members under Dhaka and Faridpur organisational divisions at the party chairperson's Gulshan office.
Read: BNP policymakers in another closed-door meeting
Party sources said 75 leaders participated in the meeting and gave their opinions about how BNP should get ready for an anti-government movement and the next general election.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir along with standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Nazrul Islam Khan and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku was present at the meeting. Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman virtually joined it from London.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mirza Fakhrul said their meeting discussed the current political situation in the country and the organisational issues of BNP.
BNP policymakers will also hold another meeting with members of the executive committee in Chattogram, Cumilla, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Rangpur divisions on Wednesday.
Read: BNP plans series of party central leaders’ meetings
Earlier, the BNP policymakers had three closed-door meetings with party vice-chairmen, advisory council members, joint secretaries general, organising secretaries, assistant organising secretaries and secretaries and top leaders of the party’s different associate bodies last week.
The meetings were held as part of the party’s planned series of meetings with BNP rank and file to know their views about the party’s next course of action ahead of the next general election.
BNP formed a 502-member national executive committee through its sixth national council on March 19, 2016.
BNP’s mid-ranking leaders prefer movement seeking polls-time govt
BNP’s mid-ranking leaders on Wednesday urged the party policymakers to wage a movement to force the government to hold the next polls under a neutral government.
In a closed-door meeting, they also told the party top leaders that it will be pointless for BNP to join the next national election if it is held under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a party joint secretary general, who was present at the meeting, told UNB.
He said some leaders wanted to know from the party high command about what BNP gained by joining Jatiya Oilkyafront under the leadership of Dr Kamal Hossain and the talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ahead of the last general election.
The BNP leader said they also urged the party top leaders to work out a strategy for the next polls taking lessons from the mistakes the party made during the last two national elections.
The BNP top leaders sat in the marathon meeting with the BNP joint secretaries general, secretaries general, organising secretaries, assistant organising secretaries and secretaries around 4pm at BNP chairperson's Gulshan office. The meeting continued for around seven and a half hours.
Also read: BNP plans series of party central leaders’ meetings
Party sources said 122 leaders participated in the meeting and gave their opinions about how BNP should get ready for an anti-government movement and the next general election.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir along with standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Nazrul Islam Khan, Selima Rahman and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku was present at the meeting. Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman virtually joined it from London.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mirza Fakhrul said they sat with the party’s mid-level leaders after the senior ones as part of their planned series of meetings with BNP rank and file to know their views about the party’s next course of action.
“The meeting discussed the current political situation in the country and the organisational situation of the party,” he said.
Fakhrul said they will also hold a meeting with the leaders of different associate bodies on Thursday. “We may hold similar meetings with other leaders and the party in the days to come and it will be finalized at our standing committee’s next meeting.”
Also read: Now state ‘backs corruption’: BNP
The BNP leader said their party will also hold dialogues with different organizations over the political issues.
Earlier on Tuesday, the BNP policymakers had a closed-door meeting with the party’s vice-chairmen and advisory council members.
BNP formed a 502-member national executive committee, including 35 vice-chairmen, through its sixth national council on March 19, 2016.
Shun infighting first to launch oust-govt movement: Fakhrul to BNP leaders
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday urged their party leaders and activists to put behind intra-party conflicts and grouping first before launching a movement to oust the current government.
"I would like to clearly say Awami League won’t be able to hang onto power as people will ensure their fall through a strong movement for their misdeeds and injustice,” he said.
Speaking at a virtual discussion, the BNP leader said, “Let’s quickly reorganise ourselves by resolving misunderstandings and divisions among us. We also must unite people to remove this monster regime that has been sitting on our chests like a heavy stone."
Gazipur district and city units BNP jointly arranged the programme marking the 40th death anniversary of party founder Ziaur Rahman.
Also read: Get ready for movement: Fakhrul to BNP followers
Fakhrul called upon BNP leaders and workers to get ready for restoring democracy and establishing a pro-people government by ensuring a credible national election under a non-party administration and the neutral Election Commission through a tough struggle.
He said they will also wage a movement for having their party chairperson Khaleda Zia completely freed from jail.
“We’ve to free our leader (Khaleda) first as a democratic movement. Without her, we won’t succeed. So, we’ve to move on for the restoration of democracy through the movement for Khaleda’s release,” the BNP leader said.
Stating that the country has been going through a critical juncture, he said BNP must play a pivotal role in overcoming it. “Amid the current political crisis, we must stand firmly and turn around to change the situation and get back our rights.”
Also read: Hope that will get you through: Fakhrul to BNP activists
Fakhrul suggested BNP leaders in Gazipur to remove grouping for reorganising the party and strengthening its organizational capacity.
“It’s unfortunate for us that though we do politics for the party of Ziaur Rahman and Begum Khaleda Zia, we look for our own men and create groupings when we try to overhaul the party. You’ve to find the followers of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, not your own men,” he advised the BNP leaders.
The BNP secretary general warned that their party will not get success in the movement in the future if its leaders and activists cannot take to the steers in unison removing all the groupings and intra-party conflicts among them.
BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar, chairperson’s adviser Amanullah Aman and BNP organizing secretary Fazlul Haq Milon, among others, spoke at the programme.
Govt made Bangladesh a ‘hell’: Fakhrul
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday alleged that the government has turned the country into a ‘hell’ by arresting and repressing the opposition leaders and activists amid a pandemic.
In a statement, he alleged that police are not only arresting BNP leaders and activists in different parts of the country, including Brahmanbaria, Dhaka and Narsingdi, but also raiding their houses, launching a crackdown.
“The Awami League government has turned the whole country into a hell. They’re arresting the leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies every day. Even in the month of Ramadan, the monstrous image of the government seems to have taken a bigger shape,” Fakhrul said.
Also read: Fakhrul regrets BNP’s failure to revitalise organisations
He urged the government to immediately stop such arrests and release the arrested opposition leaders and activists.
Amid people’s anxiety and panic over the coronavirus pandemic, the BNP leader said, the government did not reduce its level of repression on the opposition leaders and activists. “Rather it has multiplied many times.”
Fakhrul said the people of Bangladesh are now going through a tough time under the ‘barbaric’ rule of an ‘oppressive regime’.
Also read: Govt-backed syndicate behind price hike of essentials: Fakhrul
“The people of the country are fed-up at the cruel and inhuman behaviour of the Awami government. The patriotic people and the political leaders and activists must be united to protect the country from misrule. There’s no alternative to forging a unity,” he observed.
Govt-backed syndicate behind price hike of essentials: Fakhrul
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday voiced deep worries over the growing price hike of essentials and alleged that a government-backed syndicate is behind it.
"We’re very worried that the prices of essential commodities, including rice, pulses and salt, have already gone up ahead of the Ramadan,” he said at a virtual press conference.
The BNP leader said, “The government has failed to control the market as it’s involved with the syndicate that raises prices. The government-backed people have made the syndicate for increasing the prices.”
Also read: Prices in kitchen markets on the up ahead of Ramadan
Fakhrul alleged that BNP leaders and activists are being arrested and implicated in cases as part of a ruling party plot to eliminate the party and thwart its ongoing movement.
He also presented statistics on the filing of cases in different places against BNP leaders and activists over the last few days.
The BNP leader criticised the government for arresting their party executive committee member advocate Nipun Roy charge of involvement in the recent violence.
“Nipun Roy is a working lawyer, an active human rights activist and a conscious politician. She can’t have any involvement in any terrorist activities. It's a completely conspiratorial and fabricated and false charge,” Fakhrul said.
Also read: BNP leader Nipun Roy arrested in city
He demanded the withdrawal of the case filed against opposition leaders and activists and the release of those arrested.
He alleged that the government has failed to raise awareness among people to encourage them to maintain health safety rules to contain the surge in coronavirus infection.
The BNP leader said though the ruling party leaders are keeping themselves protected from the deadly virus staying at their homes, they are pushing the common people to get out of their houses.
KM Obaidur Rahman’s 14th death anniversary on Sunday
The 14th death anniversary of former BNP secretary general KM Obaidur Rahman will be observed on Sunday.