Bhuiyan accuses Khaleda of violating jail code

Expelled BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan yesterday accused detained party chief Khaleda Zia of violating jail code through filing the writ challenging validity of the Election Commission's invitation for dialogue.
"For being confined in custody, the jail code does not permit her to file the writ petition and get involved in political matters through seeking court recognition of Khandaker Delwar Hossain as secretary general of BNP," Bhuiyan told the High Court while contesting the case as an additional respondent.
Countering an oblique remark of the counsel for Khaleda having dubbed "midnight coup" the October 29 standing-committee meeting, he claimed that there was a standing committee of BNP that passed a resolution stating that the committee did not give approval to his expulsion from the party.
On September 2 last year, hours before her arrest in connection with a corruption case, the immediate-past premier had sacked her reformist secretary general, Mannan Bhuiyan on charge of anti-party activities and handpicked Khandaker Delwar Hossain in his place.
The appointment was made "without consulting any of the members of the standing committee or the other senior party leaders, as there was no such scope to do so", Bhuiyan claimed in contesting the party chief's unilateral action.
He mentioned that the meeting of the standing committee decided that Delwar would be relieved of his post of secretary general due to his ill health and in his place party vice-chairman Maj (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed would be the acting secretary general.
The meeting further decided that in the absence of party chairperson, senior-most member of the standing committee M Saifur Rahman would be acting chairperson of BNP, Bhuiyan contended in his written deposition.
Bhuiyan denied the allegation made by the other respondents in the case that two "strangers" who were present at the meeting of the standing committee held at Saifur's Gulshan house got the prepared minutes of the meeting signed through "threat, intimidation and coercion".
Bhuiyan further argued in his submissions that Delwar never made any claim to the Election Commission that he is the secretary general of BNP during the dilemma over EC dialogue with the party on electoral reforms.
The rule hearings in the highly politically significant case remained inconclusive for the second day. It resumes today.