Shafiqur president, Quamrul gen secy of Jatiya Press Club

Senior journalist Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman and News Editor of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Quamrul Islam Chowhdury were elected president and general secretary respectively of the 17-member management committee of Jatiya Press Club yesterday on the basis of general consensus.

Other office bearers are Senior Vice-President Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, Vice-President Amirul Islam Kagoji, Treasurer Kartik Chatterjee, and Joint Secretaries Ashraf Ali and Elias Khan. The 10 members are Amanullah Kabir, Khondoker Monirul Alam, Azizul Islam Bhuiyan, Saiful Alam, Shyamal Dutta, Shamsuddin Ahmed Charu, Mollah Jalal, Sardar Farid Ahmed, Hasan Arefin and Shamsul Haq Durrani.

A senior member of JPC Elahi Newaz Khan Shaju announced the names of the committee. Senior journalist M Shahjahan Mian chaired the meeting that elected the committee for 2015-2016.

In addition, the meeting in a resolution decided to set up a mural of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the club premises. In another resolution, it was proposed that a white paper will be published on the irregularities and corruption of JPC's past committees.

Another resolution proposed amendments to the club's constitution, for raising the number of members from existing 1,000 to 1,500 in the course of time.

Prime minister's information adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury criticised the activities of the past, saying the club had been turned into a party platform. "From now on, it will not be so, as there has been a general consensus among the club members to keep this institution free from political influence," he said.

Echoing him, Amanullah Kabir said the "consensus committee" would solve the problems, created by the past committees.

Khondoker Monirul Alam, a former president of the club, said the club's environment was polluted in 2002 after a large number of members were included through persuasion, ultimately creating a crisis.

He thanked all members for extending their cooperation towards overcoming the crisis peacefully.

Earlier, the participants of the meeting observed a one-minute silence in honour of the club's members who died recently -- life members Hasanuzzaman Khan and ABM Musa, senior members Alhaj Zahirul Haq, Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury, Monwar Ahmed, Mir Mohiuddin Shohan, Azizur Rahim Piu, and Saiful Islam Talukdar.