Workers Party of Bangladesh: Menon, Badsha elected president, general secretary

Amidst a boycott by six dissident central leaders and two politburo members, the four-day 10th national congress of Workers Party of Bangladesh concluded yesterday. Rashed Khan Menon and Fazle Hossain Badsha were once again elected the party’s president and general secretary respectively.

The proposal for a new 91-member committee, including the president and general secretary, was passed for 2019-21 on the last day of the congress, at Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh in the capital.

Badsha, also a lawmaker from Rajshahi, made the announcement at a press conference there.

Five new members -- Jyoti Sarkar, Nazrul Islam Haqqani, Ali Ahmed Enamul Haque, Nazrul Haque Nilu and Haji Bashir Ullah -- have been included in the 15-member politburo of the party, he said.

Badsha presented 19 political proposals, which were approved at the congress.

Expressing their deep concern over “massive corruption and looting in the country”, he said such corruption is destroying the government’s good image.

“Almost all sectors, especially administration, banking, share market, electricity, energy, and education, are severely corrupted,” he alleged.

Badsha stressed on waging a mass movement to eliminate corruption. Demanding establishment of labourers’ and farmers’ rights, he recommended fixing Tk 8,000 as the national minimum wage. He also suggested not to pass any law that could diminish the rights of low-income people.

Stressing on establishing a non-communal and militant-free Bangladesh, Badsha said there is no alternative to continuing in the Awami League-led 14-party alliance, to fulfill this dream.

“We took part in the last three national elections as components of the 14-party alliance, and are still working together,” said the left-leaning party leader.

On Saturday, the congress started with a vow to continue its fight against corruption, inequality and sectarianism.

Meanwhile, boycotting the congress, the dissident leaders and politburo members who were suspended, alleged that the party has deviated from its communist ideals by forming alliance with AL.

Iqbal Kabir Jahid, one of the dissident leaders, said they will hold a two-day rally in Jashore from November 29-30, to declare their next course of action.

However, pointing at the dissident leaders, the party president Menon, in his speech at yesterday’s press conference, said the congress was held successfully despite controversial activities of dissident leaders. 

Welcoming the newly-elected central body, Menon urged all to cooperate to fulfill his party’s agendas.