Reza Kibria to contest polls on JOF ticket

Reza Kibria

Reza Kibria, son of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria and former advisory committee member of Awami League, has decided to participate in the forthcoming parliamentary elections on the ticket of newly formed opposition alliance Jatiya Oikya Front.

The AL’s main arch-rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party is the key ally of JOF that was formed on October 13 to press for holding a free, fair and credible election.
Gonoforum president Dr Kamal Hossain, who was also the chairman in the committee formed after the liberation war to write the country’s constitution, leads JOF.
Reza joined Gonoforum on Friday afternoon.

Contacted on Saturday evening, economist Reza Kibria told New Age that it was confirmed that he was going to contest the polls on the JOF ticket.
Explaining reason for joining a new political alliance leaving the ruling AL, Reza said that he did not agree with the way the AL was ruling the country for nine years and a half.
‘This is the main reason for my joining the AL’s opposition ally,’ he said.

About the death of his father Kibria in a grenade attack during the regime of BNP-Jamaat government, Reza said it was one of his personal grievances that AL could not conduct a proper investigation into the grenade attack in nine years and BNP also failed to do the job in two years when it was in the power.

‘You know, I never mentioned the name of any political party or alliance in the past as the killer of my father. I just wanted that a proper investigation be run into the incident and people involved in the grenade attack be identified,’ he claimed.

‘The AL-led government failed to identify the attackers even in its two tenures. So, you tell me to whom the blame now goes,’ Reza asked.
Mentioning that bring change in running the government is essential to establish good governance, Reza hoped that fulfilling the expectation would be possible under the leadership of prominent personality like Kamal Hossain.

Former finance minister Kibria was elected from Habiganj-3 constituency (Sadar-Lakhai upazilas) in 1996 as an AL nominated candidate.
Reza told New Age that he was interested to contest for the Habiganj-1 constituency (Nabiganj-Bahubal) to work for development of his birthplace.
He has born in village Jalalsap at Devpara union under Nabiganj in the district.

Kibria, his nephew Shah Manzurul Huda and three local AL leaders — Abdur Rahim, Abul Hossain and Siddeq Ali — were killed and more than 50 were injured in a grenade attack on a rally held at Baidyer Bazar under sadar upazila in Habiganj on January 28, 2005.