Nasir Uddin Yousuff’s Dhaka Theatre quits Federation in protest

In protest of the dismission of membership of Kamal Bayezid from Secretary General of Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation, Dhaka Theatre has decided to resign from the Group Theatre Federation. The news was confirmed through a press note by eminent theatre personality Nasir Uddin Yousuff. Kamal Bayezid is a renowned theatre activist, and a senior member of Dhaka Theatre.

In the note, it was mentioned that on 22 March, the resignation letter was sent to Liaquat Ali Lucky, Chairman, Group Theatre Federation. As the cause of quitting, they have mentioned that the federation has amorphously cancelled Kamal Bayezid's membership. Thus, in protest to this decision Dhaka Theatre, despite being involved with the federation since its inception, has decided to leave.

Nasir Uddin Yousuff shared his thoughts in the note, "It is extremely heartbreaking to announce that we are no associated with the federation. However, we have always stood against wrong. It was indeed a hard decision to leave the federation, with which we have been deeply connected since the last four decades."

On April 14, 2022, Nasir Uddin Yousuff sent an official letter to Liaquat Ali Lucky demanding to re-investigate the allegations brought against the elected Secretary General, Kamal Bayezid. He had also stated that the cancellation of the membership was not properly done as per the rules of the federation.

In the statement, he had also urged the Chairman to form a neutral committee who can investigate the allegations made against the senior member.

Almost one year has passed, but Dhaka Theatre allegedly did not get any satisfactory response from the federation. Yousuff also claimed that noted cultural personalities Asaduzzaman Noor and Mamunur Rashid also intervened regarding this matter, and tried to had conversations to solve this issue. However, there were still no proper steps were taken from the Chairman's end.

Discarding the false allegations against Kamal Bayezid, Nasir Uddin Yousuff also said, "He has been responsible for many crucial decisions for the benefit of the federation, and we refuse to believe that a person like him can be involved with any kind of financial discrepancies." He also added that if the neutral committee finds any remarks of Bayezid being corrupted, then Dhaka Theatre Federation will take strict steps against him.

The Daily Star is trying to reach Liaquat Ali Lucky for comments on the matter.