BNP shuns AL council

The BNP yesterday backtracked on its decision to attend the ruling Awami League's 20th national council at the city's Suhrawardy Udyan.

Alleging that many of their leaders were killed and scores injured at the hands of the AL, the BNP high-ups decided to refrain from attending the council, insiders said.

Leaders of Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Rob, Bangladesh National Alliance, National Awami Party, Gonotantri Party and Communist Kendra who are not components in the AL-led 14-party alliance however went to the council.

Leaders of the main opposition Jatiya Party and components in the grand alliance -- Workers Party, both factions of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and Samyabadi Dal also joined the grand event.

Bikalpa Dhara President AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, Secretary General Maj (retd) MA Mannan, CPB adviser Manjurul Ahsan Khan and President Mujahidul Islam Selim, JSD-Rob leader ASM Abdur Rob, Jatiya Party presidium members Anisul Islam Mahmud and Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu, Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, General Secretary Fazle Hossain Badsha, JSD-Inu President Hasanul Haq Inu, General Secretary Shirin Akhtar, Dilip Barua of Samyabadi Dal,  Enamul Haq of Nap, among others, attended the council.

Asked, a BNP leader wishing anonymity said although the party had earlier decided to attend the council, they later considered the “negative impacts on the party leaders and activists”.

“Many of our leaders were killed and there have been many cases of enforced disappearances during the present government rule. What will we say to a victim's family if they ask what we had said about these issues at the council?” added the leader.

BNP Joint Secretary General Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal on Friday said they were going to attend the council to prove that BNP is not a narrow-minded political party.

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Alal said he did not know why the party backtracked on the decision.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also told this correspondent that he was unwell and did not know if BNP was going to the council.