Expels Ershad from the party
Kazi Zafar Ahmed, an expelled presidium member of Jatiya Party, was elected chairman of a splinter group of the party by a council of the faction today.
In the council held at the Jatiya Press Club auditorium this afternoon, the new faction “expelled JP Chairman HM Ershad from the party” and claimed itself to be the mainstream of Jatiya Party.
Minutes before beginning of the council, unidentified miscreants blasted four crude bombs — two inside the auditorium and two on the press club premises — leaving at least seven leaders and activists injured.
They were rushed to different nearby hospitals.
The leaders of the new JP faction blamed the government and Ershad’s supporters for the blasts.
The council elected Golam Moshi as sectary general of the splinter group.
A 20-member presidium committee was also formed during the council.
“We will continue with our anti-government movements,” Kazi Zafar said at the council.
Whether the party will move forward with the movement alone or in association with the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance or like-minded parties like Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will be decided by the party’s presidium members, he added.
NOVEMBER 28 EXPEL DRAMA
Within half an hour of receiving the orders of his removal around 12:30pm on November 28, Kazi Zafar Ahmed issued a counter statement expelling Ershad from the Jatiya Party.
Lying in his hospital bed around 3:15pm, Kazi Zafar told The Daily Star that he had sent the “expulsion orders” to Ershad, even asking the JP chairman to stay away from party activities.
“Ershad is being expelled as per the party constitution as he kept changing his stance repeatedly,” he said.
He added that Ershad could not expel him without holding a meeting of the presidium.
“Then how could he expel Ershad without a decision of the party presidium?” Zafar could not give any satisfactory answer to this question.
Earlier in the day, JP Chairman HM Ershad told reporters at a Dhaka hotel, “I have just signed the release order for Kazi Zafar.”
Regretting his “contributions” for Kazi Zafar all these years, the former military dictator said, “Nowadays, he [Zafar] is issuing statements against me in newspapers. He no longer belongs to my party.”
On November 23, Kazi Zafar lambasted Ershad for joining the Awami League-led polls-time government, saying the party chairman was “betraying the nation”.
Meeting Zafar the next day, Ershad told the media that he doubted if the presidium member had really made the statement and that “Zafar was like a family member and he had been in the party and will remain in the party.”
Zafar on November 28 said Ershad at the November 24 meeting promised to cut off ties with the Awami League very soon. But he could not trust the chairman.
He added the expulsion order was nothing new to him. The JP boss earlier had expelled him three times and Rowshan Ershad four times.
According to party sources, Ershad yesterday morning through two text messages over mobile phone urged Zafar not to make further statements against him and said he was “sorry” for his recent moves.
Zafar’s orders have no value in the party, the sources said. He is alone at this stage as he is not getting support from the pro-BNP elements in the party.
Ershad faced the same reaction from Rowshan in the past when he attempted to expel her, they added.
Source: The Daily Star
