Ruling Bangladesh Awami League (AL) leader and Barisal zila parishad chairman Maidul Islam has stirred a hornet’s nest with information that during the BNP-Jamaat movement in 2013, a bus was set on fire killing 11 persons at the orders of AL member of parliament Pankaj Debnath.
Barisal and Mehndiganj AL are disconcerted over this statement made at a press conference by Maidul Islam against party MP Pankaj, and the counter statement issued by Pankaj.
Tension prevails between the two factions of the ruling party in Mehndiganj upazila. Pankaj’s supporters on Saturday held a protest rally and meeting under the Awami League banner. Mehndiganj is the constituency of Swecchashebok League central general secretary Pankaj. Maidul is from the same area.
Speaking at a press conference at the Barisal zila parishad conference room on Tuesday, Maidul Islam said in 2013 BNP and Jamaat committed arson all over the country. On 2 December that year, a Bihanga Paribahan bus was set on fire in Dhaka, killing 11 persons. It was the chairman of Bihanga Paribahan, Pankaj, who had orchestrated this fire that led to the death of 11 persons, in order to win the prime minister’s sympathy and eventually party nomination. Maidul Islam said he had seen this at the time on Facebook and read about it too.
Pankaj MP held a counter press conference on Thursday, asking whose interests was Maidul Islam serving by raising such a controversial question? He said, Maidul’s statement is false and misleading. It was an attempt to malign his (Pankaj’s) political image.
Party sources say, conflict between Pankaj and Maidul surfaced at the 23 May election of no. 11 Chanpur union parishad election in Mehndiganj upazila. Maidul Islam gave Awami League nomination to Mahe Alam Dhali as chairman. Bahauddin, a supporter of Pankaj MP, contested as rebel candidate and won. AL candidate Mahe Alam boycotted the election, alleging that the polling centre was forcefully taken over and polling agents driven out.
At the press conference in Barisal, Maidul accused Pankaj of burning people to death. Mahe Alam was present at the conference. Maidul Islam also accused Pankaj of ties with the BNP-backed Hawa Bhaban , of forming Swecchashebok League with BNP-Jamaat activists, forcefully taking over the area, looting government funds, and putting forward a rebel candidate against the party candidate in the UP elections.
Pankaj told Prothom Alo yesterday, “Maidul Islam is a senior politician. I do not know if he understands what he said, or not. It is true that I am one of the owners of Bihanga Paribahan. During the BNP-Jamaat movement, there was not a single day that one of our buses was not burnt or damaged.”
Maidul Islam’s statement has put AL into an embarrassing position. He is under pressure and could not be reached at his office or home yesterday, neither over mobile phone.
However, yesterday he sent a written statement to the media, stating, “Pankaj won sympathy as chairman of Bihanga Paribahan when one of the company’s buses was burnt by BNP-Jamaat , and he won nomination for the Hijla-Mehndiganj constituency. BNP is twisting this statement to create an issue. This is unexpected and uncalled for.”
Meanwhile, BNP held a press conference, saying AL in planned manner carried out arson and killed people. They then put the blame on BNP.
BNP’s central joint secretary general and Barisal city BNP president Mujibur Rahman Sarwar told Prothom Alo, Maidul’s statement proves that the government had instigated burning of vehicles in 2013 in order to thwart the opposition movement.
Mehndiganj upazila Awami League general secretary and municipal mayor Kamaluddin Khan, known to be of the Maidul camp in local politics, told Prothom Alo, Maidul Islam’s statement has put the party into an embarrassing position. It was not prudent of him to make such a statement.
Source: Prothom Alo
