Internal Feud Unresolved for Months

Barisal city BNP leaders summoned to Dhaka

11 November 2009, 17:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Barisal city BNP leaders have been summoned to Dhaka as they failed to form a full-fledged committee of the unit due to internal feud. The high command asked the city unit leaders to attend a meeting at the party's central office at Nayapaltan in the capital at 1:00pm today. Internal feud in Barisal city BNP surfaced after formation a convening committee by party high command on June 9 this year with Mahmud Golam Salek as convener and Ahsan Habib Kamal and five others as joint conveners. Though the convening committee was asked to form a 51-member full-fledged body as early as possible, it could not comply with the directive of the high command due to rifts among the front ranking city leaders. Leaders and activists of the unit are divided into two groups. One is led Salek while the other by Kamal. Salek group is reportedly backed by district BNP Convener Majibor Rahman Sarwar MP. The conflict surfaced anew on June 16 when two rival factions clashed during party council in the city. Later, they took up separate programmes and held rallies in the city on different occasions. The central committee at a special extended meeting here in August asked the city leaders to resolve the intra-party feud and hold the council within September. But they could not hold the council, party insiders said. Internal conflict took a serious turn on October 29 when the two factions brought out separate processions on Ashwani Kumar Hall premises in the city demanding withdrawal of cases against Tareque Rahaman. "As the full-fledged committee is yet to be formed due to intra-party conflict, dedicated leaders and activists are frustrated and have distanced themselves from party activities", a senior leader said. Talking to The Daily Star, City Joint Convener Ahsan Habib Kamal said though the high command asked to form the committee within the shortest possible time, the convener is yet to call any meeting in this regard. Contacted, City Convener Mahmud Golam Salek said, " The joint conveners and other top leaders are not interested to form a full-fledged committee. Party interest is not important to them", he added.