'They want to belittle Bangladesh cricket'
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan said yesterday that they will go ahead as planned to hold the October 2 AGM (Annual General Meeting) and EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting) despite being threatened to face legal battles.
Speaking to reporters at the BCB headquarters in Mirpur, the board president reacted sharply to the recent turn of events where Mobasher Hossain, a former board director, served a legal notice to the BCB asking it to refrain from holding both the AGM and EGM. Besides, former BCB president Saber Hossain Chowdhury also questioned the legality of such move following a Supreme Court ruling on July 26 this year. The apex court ruled that the amendments made in the BCB constitution in 2012 by the NSC was done unlawfully. Interestingly, the present committee was elected under the amended 2012 BCB constitution.
"The Supreme Court's last direction said that the BCB is fully valid because we were elected under that constitution and the ICC also recognises us. And now we will call an AGM and if anyone wants a change in the constitution according to the ICC's guidelines then we can do that. Then we will send it to the NSC for approval, but NSC cannot change anything. This is the guideline and there is no leeway here," Hassan told reporters.
Mobasher sent a legal notice to the National Sports Council (NSC) last Saturday asking the country's local sport's governing body to stop any and all functions of the present BCB board of directors, including president Hassan.
Barrister Mahbub Shafique, on behalf of Mobasher, served the legal notice asking the BCB president not only to stop all his activities but also to refrain from holding the upcoming AGM of the board. The notice stated that the present committee of the BCB has lost its legality following the Supreme Court judgment.
On the other hand Saber, in a letter addressed to the BCB president, said: "Based on judgment of 26th July of Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, I'm not eligible to be a councillor of the BCB." He was actually responding to a notice he was served by the BCB as its councillor.
"If they were right then we would have to go to the 2008 constitution and bring our team back from South Africa. The ICC has a very important board meeting next month and they will not allow us into that," Hasan said acidly while referring to the 2008 constitution, where BCB president was not elected but was a nominee from the government.
"This is all pre-planned. You have to understand what their objective is. I will tell you one thing. Saber Hossain gave me a letter before asking why I did not hold AGMs. I have heard Mobasher Shaheb saying on talk shows why I don't hold AGMS. These are hypocrisies and I don't like these things," said Hassan. "Our stand is very simple. Bangladesh is going forward in cricket and we have the responsibility to maintain that as long as it's in our hands. If anyone tries to create any obstacles we will have protect that and then we will not do anything outside the law. We will hold our AGM of course," said the first elected president of BCB.
He looked more concerned about the next ICC meeting.
"The next ICC meeting will finalise the fact that we will get from 8 million to 16 million. If we are not allowed there then it's over. They want to stop this progress and belittle Bangladesh cricket inside and outside the country," he continued adding that: "Of course, Saber is behind it. We all know that from the start."
"The reason they filed a case is that they want the 2008 constitution used in the next election. Neither of them were councillors in 2008. I have said before that the 2008 constitution is not approved. It is in direct violation of ICC guidelines. If we have the election using the 2008 constitution then it means cutting Bangladesh off from the ICC," Hasan said bitterly.
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