Soon after Islami Oikya Jote Chairman Abdul Latif Nezami announced his decision to quit the 20-Party Alliance, its Vice-Chairman Maulana Abdur Rakib has clarified that the party is still a part of the alliance.
Instead, he said, Nezami and his followers are ‘not in the party any more’.
His counter remark came within three hours of Chairman Nezami announcing on Thursday his severance of ties with the alliance.
Rakib pronounced himself the party’s acting chairman in a media conference at BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s office in Gulshan.
He said Nezami and his followers were ‘not in the party anymore for having violated its rules’.
“Islami Oikya Jote was in the 20-Party Alliance, led by Khaleda Zia, and it will continue to remain so,” he added.
Abdul Latif Nezami (L)
On Jan 6, 1999, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia announced the formation of a Four-Party alliance with the HM Ershad-led Jatiya Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the IOJ to launch a movement against the then Awami League-led government.
Since then, the IOJ has been a part of the BNP-led front that later grew into the present 20-Party alliance. The party had won two seats in Parliament in the 2001 elections.
Last year, the National People’s Party (NPP), led by Sheikh Shawkat Hossain Nilu, left the alliance over differences with its coalition partners.
But another faction of the party remained in the alliance.
Now, the developments in the IOJ seem to be going the NPP way.
Nezami, who became IOJ’s chief after the death of its chairman Fazlul Haque Amini in December 2012, said on Thursday, “Ulamas need to be united, and they have, therefore, decided to act independently.”
Rakib said Nezame Islami Party, a partner of the IOJ, had called a meeting on Wednesday after some of the IOJ leaders breached alliance rules.
The meeting, presided over by Nezami, decided to remain in the alliance, according to Rakib.
Nezami had defied the councillors, district representatives, and Islamist leaders of the party, and announced his withdrawal, Rakib said.
He said the posts held by Nezami and his followers ‘automatically’ fell vacant for having violated the rules.
He introduced Maulana Abdul Karim Khan as the party’s new secretary general.
Mufti Md Fayezullah is the secretary general of the faction led by Nezami.
Asked if Nezami and Fayezullah have been expelled, Rakib said, “Islami Oikya Jote does not have the system of expelling anyone. We are patient. We wait for correction.”
He said the final decision about them will be taken in a meeting of the party’s policymakers within 15 days.
He also said there might be a ‘superpower’ behind Nezami’s decision.
Asked to elaborate, he said, “You are journalists. You know it better than I do.”
“He (Nezami) was with us until 9pm. (God) knows what happened after that,” he said.
Source: Bd news24