Gonoforum President Dr Kamal Hossain on Tuesday urged the government to engage in talks with all political parties immediately to hold the upcoming national election in a free, fair and participatory manner. Speaking at a discussion, he also placed a six-point proposal for overcoming the political crisis and forming a polls-time neutral government through discussions with the political parties. The veteran jurist and politician said the election in 2014 was lopsided one without the participation of voters while the day’s voting was held at night in 2018. Lack of effective parliamentary democracy is very sad: Dr Kamal “In this situation, the nation is in extreme worry and tension about the upcoming national elections. I call on the government to immediately engage in a dialogue with all political parties to ensure that the upcoming parliamentary election will be free, fair, and participatory." Dr Kamal-led Gonoforum arranged the discussion at the Jatiya Press Club, marking its 30th founding anniversary. In his six-point proposal, the Gonoforum chief advocated for the formation of a polls-time non-partisan and neutral government through talks with the political parties, the reconstitution of the Election Commission, ensuring the freedom of meetings and gatherings of all political parties, and a level-playing field for all parties, immediate withdrawal all false cases against the leaders and workers of the opposition parties and ensuring the presence of local and foreign election observers. Montu-led Gonoforum removes Dr Kamal from its chief adviser post On behalf of Dr Kamal, party general secretary Mizanur Rahman red-out a three-page written statement at the programme. Later in a brief address, Dr Kamal greeted his party leaders and workers on the occasion of its founding anniversary. “The unity of the people is now most needed in order to achieve the desired goals of the nation. This unity must be forged. My only request is that we all work together to build national unity so that we can achieve our goals in unison,” he said. Dr Kamal said his party believes in people's ownership and people's unity as it is determined to establish real democracy in the country. “This country does not belong to any individual or group, but to all of you and me." Dr Kamal for formation of structure of neutral polls He called upon all to raise their voices being imbued with the spirit of the Liberation War and work together to establish the constitutional demands and rights of all the people and remove corruption and black money forever. “Let’s build the country together."  A close associate of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Dr Kamal Hossain founded Gonoforum on August 29, 1993, deserting Awami League. Dr Kamal has been in the post of party president since its inception. On December 3, 2021, Gonoforum suffered a split as a group of its leaders, led by the party’s former general secretary, Mostafa Mohsin Montu, formed a 157-member new committee of the party through a council dropping its founder president Dr Kamal Hossain.  

Dr Reza Kibria on Sunday threatened to take legal action against Nurul Haque Nur and two others for their ‘unlawful’ move to remove him from the post of convener of Gono Odhikar Parishad. Talking to reporters at his Gulshan residence, Dr Reza said Gono Odhikar Parishad will be run under his leadership. "He (Nur) has become so desperate to remove me that he took the decision without proper voting," he said. As per the party constitution, Dr Reza said two-thirds of votes (81 votes) of the central committee are needed to oust its convener or president. “It didn't happen." Besides, he claimed that Nur and his associates forged signatures of some committee members. “You will see the signatures of those who did not sign there. It is a serious matter. That's why we’ll file a case against Nurul Haque, Rashed Khan  and Shakil Uzzaman for forging signatures and taking votes through irregularities,” Reza  warned. He said only 36 central committee members put down their signatures during the voting for his removal. "The rest didn’t sign while 81 votes of the central committee are required to remove the convener. So, they could not remove me,” Reza said. He said he will continue to run the party as its convener. “The party is facing such a situation for only one person. I think we can overcome the problem as we have a lot of good people to save the party.” Earlier on Saturday, a group led by Nur, removed Reza Kibria from his post of the Gono Odhikar Parishad convener and replaced him with party joint convener Rashed Khan. A press release, signed by party office secretary Shakil Uzzaman said, the decision was taken as the two- third members of the central committee supported the proposal for Reza’s removal. Reza Kibria removed from Gono Odhikar Parishad Reza Kibria, however, was not present at the meeting. On October 26, 2021, Bangladesh Gono Odhikar Parishad was launched with  Reza Kibria as its convenor and former Ducsu Vice Present Nurul Haque Nur as member secretary with the motto of restoration of democracy, establishment of justice, rights of people, and saving the national interests.  

Gonoforum MP Mukabbir Khan on Sunday claimed that present Awami League deviated from the ideological path of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He made the comment in Parliament taking part in the thanksgiving motion on President’s speech. “The current Awami League does not have Bangabandhu's principles and ideals,” he said. He said that many of the current and former parliamentarians, bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians of this parliament have “looted money” and built Begumpara, second home, third home in different countries including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Dubai, Malaysia and Singapore.  “If you talk about this second home, you will see that snakes are coming out to collect earthworms.  Then the Prime Minister might end up in an embarrassing situation, so I won't go there.” Mokabbir challenged and said that those who claim to be belonging to the spirit of liberation war cannot go back to the constitution of 1972 ideals of Bangabandhu.  “1/11 has taught Awami League that if there is a hard time, many of the beneficiaries will not be found.” Acknowledging the current government's development activities, he said that due to the post-Covid situation, the Russia-Ukraine war, money laundering, government mismanagement in some places, widespread looting in the banking and financial sectors, commodity prices are beyond the reach of common people today.  “When you go to the market, it does not seem to be any government in the country.  There is no justice for those who are involved in looting indiscriminately.” Saying that the middle class and lower middle class are in the worst condition, the Gonoforum MP said that the standard of living of many is going down, and many are going below the poverty line.  The government has given fair price cards to one crore low income group people. There is serious mismanagement and corruption in here.  Some 80 percent of these cards are given to party leaders and workers, there is abundant evidence, he said. Even multiple cards are given to the same family, he said adding that poor people are not getting any benefits. Mukabbir said that dishonest syndicates are once again active before Ramadan.  He said that A few days ago, gas and electricity prices were increased.  “Corrupt, unscrupulous syndicates always prey on people's sufferings.  I would request the Prime Minister, make a tribunal to bring all these top corrupts, looters to book and give maximum sentence to some of the top looters.”  He said that corruption will reduce a lot this way.  “Hope, you will consider the issue taking common people's sufferings in mind.”

Gonoforum, led by Mostafa Mohsin Montu, on Monday announced to join the street programmes of the collective movement to oust the current government. “We’ll inform you (the media) about the venue of the sit-in programme to be held on January 11.  We (Gonoforum) are joining the ongoing collective  movement from today (Monday),” said party president Mostafa Mohsin Montu. He called upon people from all walks of life regardless of party affiliation to participate in the collective  movement. Read: Govt will fail to suppress opposition movement: Nazrul Islam Khan Montu made the remarks while addressing a press briefing after a meeting with the leaders of BNP's Liaison Committee formed for the coordination of the collective  movement. A three-member BNP delegation, led by Party Standing Committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, joined the meeting with the Gonoforum leaders at the letter’s Arambagh office and discussed the current political situation and the strategy of the collective movement. The other BNP delegation members included party Vice Chairman Barkat Ullah Bulu and Joint Secretary General Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Tuku said Gonoforum will take part in the programmes of the movement with other parties. He called upon the political parties and the country’s people who want a change in the government to take to the streets unitedly. “Let's oust the current government to pave a way for holding a fair election under a non-partisan government.” Read: Implementing 10 points a key New Year’s challenge for BNP: Mosharraf As part of the  collective  movement, BNP and 32 other parties observed a mass procession programme across the country on December 24 and in Dhaka and Rangpur on December 30.  But Gonoforum did not take part in those programmes. Asked why Gonoforum did not join the mass procession programme on December 30, Montu said they could not take the final decision on it as some of the party leaders were sick at that time. “That is not an issue.  We had full support for that programme.” Replying to a question whether Gonoforum considers the  collective  movement as a movement to overthrow the government, he said, "Of course.  We want a free and fair and impartial election and we need a non-partisan government to conduct such polls.” Gonoforum General Secretary of the party Subrata Chowdhury, Presidium members Prof Abu Sayeed, Jaglul Haider Afrik, Mohiuddin Abdul Quader and Abdul Hasib Chowdhury were, among others, present at the meeting.

A faction of Gonoforum, led by Mostafa Mohsin Montu, on Tuesday removed party founder Dr Kamal Hossain from the post of chief advisor to its committee. Besides, the faction’s presidium member Mizanur Rahman was expelled from the party. Mostafa Mohsin Montu, president of the Gonoforum faction, came up with the announcement at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club. He said a meeting of their faction’s central committee on Monday unanimously decided to relieve Dr Kamal Hossain from the post of chief advisor and expel Mizanur Rahman from the presidium and the general membership of the party. Earlier on Saturday, a 101-member committee of Gonofroum, led by Dr Kamal, was announced with Dr Kamal its president and Mizanur Rahman general secretary. On December 3 last year, Gonoforum suffered a split as the Montu-led group formed a 157-member committee of the party through a council dropping its founder president Dr Kamal Hossain from the post of president. Mizanur Rahman was also made a presidium member of the faction. At the press conference, Montu turned down a 101-member new committee of Dr Kamal-led faction claiming the formation of the committee was completely unconstitutional and undemocratic. “No committee of Gonorforum can be formed as per whim of any individual. Only the councillors have the jurisdiction to do that.” He alleged that two more committees of Gonoforum were formed earlier under the leadership of Dr Kamal ignoring the councillors.  “When the senior leaders of the party indulge in undemocratic and unconstitutional activities, the party workers and common people get disappointed. Personally, I respect Dr Kamal Hossain, but his actions in the current political arena are becoming questionable among the common people," Montu said. A close associate of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Dr Kamal Hossain founded Gonoforum on August 29, 1993 deserting Awami League. Read: All going pear-shaped for Gonoforum Dr Kamal has been there in the post of party president since its inception. Conflicts among the party leaders began after its fifth council held on April 26, 2019, as many party leaders, including then general secretary Mostafa Mohsin Montu, were left out of the committee formed there. On May 5, 2019, Dr Kamal made Dr Reza Kibria general secretary of Gonoforum, dropping Mostafa Mohsin Montu, widening conflicts among the party leaders. Amid the internal conflict, Dr Reza Kibria resigned from Gonoforum and its post of general secretary on February 7 last year, but it was not enough to evade a split of the party.

Gonoforum President Dr Kamal Hossain on Saturday suggested the formation of structure of an independent and neutral election to overcome the country’s political crisis. Speaking at a press conference, he also slammed the Election Commission (EC) for its decision to use EVMs up to 150 seats in next polls ignoring the opinions of most opposition parties, saying it is an alarming sign. The veteran politician said greed for money and power has sickened the current politics with a terrible disease.  “A healthy politics by removing this disease can fulfill the aspirations of people.” Read: Gonoforum finally splits amid deepening infighting "We can’t allow the current state of uncertainty to continue. I call upon all conscious citizens, all civic organisations, students, workers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers, journalists, other  professionals and women's organisations, to come up with a demand for the formation of a structure of a free and fair polls to resolve the crisis,” he said.  Dr Kamal said the electoral system has been destroyed and put into a question through the EC’s move to use the Electric Voting Machines (EVMs) in the upcoming national election. “The nation wants to get rid of the destroyed electoral system. We all must protect the country with our united efforts,” he said. “It will surely be possible to save the country and its economy if we all get united. Let’s get united, it’s my call to you. Let’s build people’s unity, citizens’ unity,” he said. “Go to your respective areas and tell local people that this country belongs to all of us. We should all unite and save this country. I want to put huge emphasis on unity,” Dr Kamal said. Read: Gano Forum: Hold next national polls under neutral govt  “We have to protect independence through the same unity with which we achieved independence. The state institutions have to be saved from corruption, he said adding the state should be saved from the negligence of the government. Gonoforum arranged the press conference at the Jatiya Press Club on the country’s overall situation. At the press conference, a 101-member full-fledged committee of Gonoforum was also announced with Dr Kamal Hossain its President and Mizanur Rahman new General Secretary.

Dr Kamal Hossain-led Gano Forum on Thursday placed a host of proposals before the Election Commission including introduction of a neutral government during the general elections to make the polls a free, fair and participatory ones. A team of Gano Forum, led by its executive chairman Mokabbir Khan, raised the proposals joining the EC’s dialogue at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city’s Agargaon area. The party, in a written paper, said since independence, no election commission was able to gain the trust of all the political parties and the masses no matter how it was constituted. It said the common people and most of the political parties didn’t get the atmosphere to participate spontaneously in the last two parliamentary elections held in 2014 and 2018. So, the elections were not credible to the world community, it added. “The next parliamentary election is a big challenge for the incumbent commission,” said Gano Forum, who joined the last national election as an ally of BNP in 2018. Also read: Be vocal against misdeeds: Dr Kamal urges people About the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the national elections, the party said it already opposed the EVMs joining the EC’s talks in June last as the common people have little knowledge about the machines. “We hope that the Election Commission will clarify its stance over EVMs soon before the nation, including every political party,” it said. Gano Forum also proposed the Election Commission to remain fully independent in case of announcement of election schedules and execution of election rules. The other proposals include formation of election area-based all-party monitoring teams during the polls, use of transparent ballot boxes in every booth and marking these with numbers, and announcement of the election results by only the Election Commission, not by the returning officers. Tarikat Federation wants EVMs in 150 constituencies: Bangladesh Tarikat Federation on Thursday proposed the national election to be held in three phases and the use of EVMs in 150 constituencies in the next general election. A team of Tarikat Federation, led by its president Syed Nazibul Bashar Maizvandary raised a number of proposals joining the EC’s talks. Also read: All going pear-shaped for Gonoforum The party also opined that the ceiling of election expenditure for an MP candidate should be raised to Tk 50 lakh instead of the existing Tk 25 lakh. Tarikat Federation, an ally of ruling Awami League, suggested the commission holds the local body elections fully based on EVMs and ensure voting rights of expatriate Bangladeshis.

Gonoforum President Dr Kamal Hossain on Thursday called upon the people to be vocal against misdeeds and immoral acts. “The country is suffering a huge loss because of various immoral acts and misdeeds. Unite people and be vocal against such activities,” he said. Dr Kamal was addressing virtually the founding anniversary and the first council of new political party, “Noitik Samaj”, at the Jatiya Press Club. He said the country must be freed from immoral and evil activities. “We hope all of you will continue to work for establishing the rule of law, human security, and good governance in the country.” Read: All going pear-shaped for Gonoforum Dr Kamal wished all-out success of the council of Noitik Samaj and urged the party leaders and activists to remain united to ‘restore’ people’s rights and democracy. On March 30 last year, Maj Gen (retd) AMSA Amin floated "Noitik Samaj" with an aim to create righteous leadership and moral values in politics. Nagorik Oikya convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna said the current government is an immoral regime since it has ‘usurped’ power by force indulging in vote ‘robbery’. If you ask any person anywhere in Bangladesh, they will say this government is unscrupulous.” He came down hard on the government for its failure to prevent the unusual and illogical hike in the prices of all essential commodities. Manna said people are lining up behind the trucks selling the goods of TCB to buy the essential food items like rice, flour, oil and onion as they are struggling to cope with the skyrocketing prices of the commodities. Read: PM enjoying lavish concert when people struggling to buy food: BNP Stating that the country witnessed a big famine in 1974 during the rule of the Awami League, he said a similar situation has now been prevailing as the same party is now in power. The Ngorik Oikya convener said an interim government will have to be formed after the fall of the Awami League regime for holding a neutral and credible election.

At least 15 people were injured in a clash between two factions of Gonoforum, the political party founded by Dr Kamal Hossain that for the first time enjoys representation in the current parliament. Gonoforum suffered a split last December, when a group of its leaders held a council to form a 157-member new committee under the leadership of Mostafa Mohsin Montu, leaving out founder-president Dr Kamal.The rump of the party now led by Dr Kamal and Mokabbir Khan MP, was scheduled to hold its council at the Jatiya Press Club auditorium on Saturday morning, but the Montu-led breakaway group arranged a human chain programme in front of the club at the same time, ostensibly to 'protest the soaring price hike of daily essentials'.The clash ensued as some leaders and activists of the Montu-led faction entered the council venue and started raising different slogans against Mokabbir.The two groups ended up tussling, and threw chairs at each other. It created panic among the councillors who came from different parts of the country.Mokabbir Khan also sustained injuries as he tried to protect his supporters from the attack.Eventually police reached the spot and brought the situation under control.Later, the council did go ahead at the JPC auditorium as planned, where Dr Kamal Hossain was made the president of the faction - even as he increasingly withdraws from party activities.Mokabbir proposed Dr Kamal’s name as the president of the faction while the councillors supported it by raising their hands.The Gonoforum MP also read out a letter sent by Dr Kamal to the council, as he himself could not join it due to illness.Dr Kamal wished all-out success of the council and urged the party leaders and activists to remain united to restore democracy and establish the rule of law and good governance.Mokabbir alleged that those who were expelled from Gonoforum earlier attacked their council 'in a planned way'.He claimed that 15 of their leaders and activists were injured in the attack.“We’ve organised the council in a democratic manner as per our previous announcement. But some miscreants attacked the council and injured many of us, including me,” Mokabbir said.Contacted, Mostafa Mohsin Montu claimed that none of his followers entered the council venue. “Our senior leaders, including Subrata Chowdhury and me, did not  even go to the press club today (Saturday). Our city committee formed a human chain in protest of growing commodity prices and they left the area at the end of their programme,” he said.Montu also said that those who arranged the council had no relationship with Dr Kamal Hossain, despite the letter read out by Mokabbir.Earlier on December 3 last year, Montu-led Gonoforum held its council where Mostafa Mohsin Montu was made president while Subrata Chowdhury general secretary.A close associate of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Dr Kamal Hossain founded Gonoforum on August 29, 1993 deserting Awami League.Conflicts within the party leaders began after its fifth council held on April 26, 2019, as many party leaders, including then general secretary Mostafa Mohsin Montu, were left out of the committee formed then. It all marks out the period since the December 2018 parliamentary election, where Gono Forum was a key component of the Oikya Front opposition alliance, as one during which GF tasted unprecedented success, but also suffered internal turmoil like never before.

Gonoforum finally suffered a split as a group of its leaders formed a 157-member new committee of the party on Friday through a council dropping its founder president Dr Kamal Hossain. Party’s former general secretary Mostafa Mohsin Montu and its ex-executive President Subrata Chowdury were made president and general secretary respectively of the faction at its sixth national council held at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh. Former party executive president Prof Abu Sayeed announced the names of the 157-member new committee of the faction after an organisational meeting at the council. He said the new committee was formed based on the opinions of the councillors. Neither Dr Kamal Hossain nor those who are loyal to him has been included in the committee of the faction. Read: Govt has to take responsibility if Khaleda faces bad fate: BNP Of the 157-member committee, there are a seven-member executive body and a 20-member presidium. The seven executive committee members are Mostafa Mohsin Montu, Prof Abu Sayeed, Subrata Chowdhury, Jaglul Haider Afrik, Mohsin Rashid, Mohiuddin Abdul Kader and Ayub Khan Farroque.