bdnews24.com :Awami League Presidium Member Obaidul Quader says party chief Sheikh Hasina relieved General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam of LGRD ministry duties to help him devote more time to party work.The road transport and bridges minister told journalists on Friday that Prime Minister Hasina’s move could very well be directed to this end. “Maybe prime minister felt Syed Ashraf was under too much pressure. Making him a minister without portfolio could allow him to give more time to the party,” Quader said.(after independence) and now it’s Ashraf,” he said. “Doesn’t seem like a good sign,” the leader said, preferring anonymity.A senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office told bdnews24.com: “He (Ashraf) never enjoyed his ministry.” Several ruling party leaders believe the prime minister decided to sack Ashraf after speaking with him. They say he would not have been removed had he expressed his desire to continue. Media reports suggested Hasina was angry with Ashraf, virtually the number two in Awami League, for not taking part in ECNEC meeting. Ashraf told reporters not to listen to rumours. He came out smiling from a meeting with the prime minister at her office on Thursday, PMO officials said.A central committee member told bdnews24.com that it was better not to comment on anything related to Hasina or Syed Ashraf. Awami League leaders say Syed Ashraf follows the prime minister’s orders to the letter and there is no scope to question his loyalty to the party chief. “It’s a matter between siblings,” was how an Awami League organising secretary put it. “It’s best not to say anything about it.”
