BNP leaders divided over council
Staff Correspondent
The BNP leaders are now divided over the holding of the party council amid the state of emergency as a group wants a 'transparent' council with the presence of the party chairperson Khaleda Zia while the other group wants an early council even if the chairperson does not approve. Leaders of both the groups are trying to woo the field level leaders' support and party Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, who are now at loggerheads over reforms in the party, talked to many district and upazila level leaders. An effective council is not possible without lifting of the ban on indoor politics, said BNP Joint Secretary General Selima Rahman, who is known to be 'close to' the party chairperson. They want to hold the council with the participation of both the chairperson and the secretary general, she added. "I told the secretary general that we want a representative council which should be transparent and accountable," Selima Rahman, also a former state minister, told the reporters after a meeting with Mannan Bhuiyan at his Gulshan residence. Party Vice-president Major (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, on the other hand, said, "The secretary general has taken all the steps to hold the council according to the party constitution." The state of emergency is not a problem for bringing reforms in the party through holding the party council, he added. Besides former lawmakers and party leaders from Barisal Division, BNP Standing Committee member M Shamsul Islam, party chairperson's adviser ZA Khan, and Joint Secretary General Ashraf Hossain attended the meeting at Mannan Bhuiyan's residence and discussed the party council. Leaders from Barisal Division came to meet the secretary general to express their solidarity with the reform proposal (announced by Mannan Bhuiyan) and they discussed the party council as its preparation is going on in full swing, said Hafiz Uddin, who is also a former minister. However, only nine former lawmakers attended the meeting while 18 BNP lawmakers were elected from six districts of Barisal Division in last parliament. "We thanked him [Bhuiyan] for taking the measures for holding the party council even after 14 years," Hafiz told the reporters at Bhuiyan's residence. Leaders close to the chairperson are approaching the grassroots level leaders asking them not to join any council called by the secretary general without Khaleda's approval and amid the state of emergency while 'pro-reform' leaders are trying to persuade the grassroots level leaders to join the council to make the party 'more democratic'.
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