Six day after its formation, the convening committee members of BNP’s Dhaka city unit on Thursday paid homage to party founder Ziaur Rahman by placing wreaths at his grave amid scuffles and tussles.
The committee members, led by its convener Mirza Abbas, placed wreaths at Zia’s grave at noon.
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, committee joint conveners Abdul Awal Mintoo, Kazi Abul Bashar, Abu Sayeed Khokan, its members Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Barkatullah Bulu, SA Khalek, Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, Nasiruddin Asim, Abdul Mazid, Shamsul Huda, Sajjad Zahir, Yunus Mridha, Anwaruzzaman, Ali Asgar Matbar and member secretary Habibun Nabi Sohel were present.
Several thousand BNP leaders and activists from different parts of the city started thronging the grave premises at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in small processions since morning.
Mirza Abbas reached the grave premises around 10:40 am while Fakhrul 10 minutes later.
An untoward situation was created as committee member secretary Habibun Nabi Sohel tried to take position just beside Fakhrul from behind pushing out Gayeshwar when Fakhrul was stepping towards the grave with Abbas and Gayeshwar on his two sides.
Gayeshwar burst into anger and tried to leave the scene in protest against it.
Later, Fakhrul and Abbas convinced him and asked Sohel to move away making room for Gayeshwar.
Earlier, party ex-MP Nilufar Chowdhury Moni locked into an altercation with Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal assistant organising secretary Nasima Akhter keya over taking position on the grave premises.
As Keya overpowered Moni, she pulled Keya’s hair, prompting the senior leaders to intervene.
At the same time, Mohila Dal president Nuri Ara Safa also engaged in an altercation as a woman leader tried to stand beside the grave pushing her out.
Though the much-talked-about BNP’s Dhaka City unit committee was announced last Friday night after a long drama, its top leaders, including Abbas, were said to have been unhappy over the inclusion of some names and a post in the committee changing the one the party chief had approved first.
They alleged that BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir together with an influential official of the party chief’s Gulshan office and a senior leader of the Dhaka city unit brought some changes in the 31-member committee which Khaleda had approved on Thursday night.
Abbas got upset as Habibun Nabi Sohel has been made member secretary of the committee despite a decision that there would be no such post in the committee unlike in the past.
Inclusion of some people loyal to Sadeque Hossain Khoka in the committee, excluding BNP leaders like Khairul Kabir Khokon, Mohammad Shahjahan and Abdus Salam Azad from it also disappointed the convener.
However, a group of city BNP leaders, led by new committee’s number-1 joint convener Abdul Mintoo, convinced Abbas and motivated others to start the committee’s work.
The committee held its first meeting on Wednesday in which 41 members of the 52-member committee were present.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Abbas said the newly formed committee is committed to working together and playing a vital role in the party’s coming anti-government movement.
He also trashed media reports about grouping in the committee, saying some people are spreading it to make their political gains. “There’s only one group in our party and that is Khaleda Zia group,” he said.
Source: UNB
