Ehsanul Haque Jasim :
The BNP is set to hold its sixth national council session today (Saturday) with the slogan “Corruption and misrule will surely come to an end, Bangladesh will be of Democracy.”
The council session will be held in the city’s Institution of Engineers’ Bangladesh (IEB). The party on Thursday got permission to use a portion
of Suhrawardy Uddyan, adjacent to the council venue. BNP on Friday thanked the authorities for allowing the Suhrawardy Uddyan to hold the council. BNP Joint-Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed in a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office said, “We were worried that the IEB was not enough to accommodate the participants. We sought permission for three venues, including Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC), but the government did not allow us. Finally we are allowed to use the portion of the Suhrawardy Uddyan. We are grateful to the authorities.”
“The BNP men and the people are excited about the council which is being held after a gap of six years. The party will emerge stronger after the council and contribute to establishing a democratic government,” Rizvi Ahmed said.
A BNP leader said that the BNP aims to rejuvenate its leaders and activists through the council to intensify the anti-government movement demanding introduction of non-party government system to hold general election. He also said that BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia might announce people-friendly programmes to meet the demand.
BNP’s councillors and representatives were already in Dhaka and have been collecting their cards from the party’s Nayapaltan office. All preparations are almost complete for the council session. About 3,000 councillor cards and about 8,000 delegate cards have been distributed among the party leaders across the county, Nayapaltan party office sources said.
Khaleda Zia is scheduled to inaugurate the council at 10:00am. The main council session will begin at 3:00pm.
BNP has invited leaders of ruling and opposition political parties at both home and abroad to the council session. The party has invited ruling Awami League Chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to attend the council. BNP’s International Affairs Secretary Dr Asaduzzaman Ripon, also member of council preparatory sub-committee for international affairs, said foreign politicians and foreign diplomats in Dhaka have also been invited to the council.
According to him, Labour Party MP of Britain Simon Danczuk, former member of the European Parliament and British Liberal Democrat politician Phil Bennion and some other foreign leaders have already arrived in Dhaka on invitation from the BNP to join its council.
Dr Ripon also said that many of the foreign politicians, especially from India, China, Myanmar and Nepal, said they would not be able to attend the council due to lack of time.
The BNP is likely to bring major changes to its constitution and include more youths into leadership. The number of vice-chairmen, advisers and secretaries’ post may be increased, while some new faces may come in the standing committee, the party’s highest policy making body, sources said.
The standing committee meeting on Thursday night approved some amendments to the party constitution. The amendments include increasing the posts of vice-chairman from 17 to 35 and creating some new posts of secretaries and assistant secretaries. A subject-wise advisory committee will be introduced. The amendments will be placed in the council for approval.
Khaleda Zia is doing her homework for forming the party’s new national executive committee, taking current and previous lists of the party’s national executive committee and former party MPs, said a BNP leader close to the party high command.
BNP standing committee member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy said that the council session would bring in dynamic leadership and create a craze to intensify the current movement for democracy.
Although the council will be held to elect the National Executive Committee of the party for a three-year term, the party’s new leadership is going to be elected without voting. Many leaders and activists are upset, as they think that they will get selected central leadership through the national council, party insiders said.
As per constitution of the BNP, the central committee will be formed with maximum 351 members while the party chief reserves the right to change the number. The number cannot be raised by more than 10 per cent. A 19-member standing committee will also be formed through the council. As per the party’s constitution, BNP chairperson and senior vice-chairman will have to be elected through direct voting. But, Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman have been elected unopposed, as none contested against them. The party men think that the election to other important posts of the BNP is also going to take place in the same manner.
The BNP is set to hold its sixth national council session today (Saturday) with the slogan “Corruption and misrule will surely come to an end, Bangladesh will be of Democracy.”
The council session will be held in the city’s Institution of Engineers’ Bangladesh (IEB). The party on Thursday got permission to use a portion
of Suhrawardy Uddyan, adjacent to the council venue. BNP on Friday thanked the authorities for allowing the Suhrawardy Uddyan to hold the council. BNP Joint-Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed in a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office said, “We were worried that the IEB was not enough to accommodate the participants. We sought permission for three venues, including Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC), but the government did not allow us. Finally we are allowed to use the portion of the Suhrawardy Uddyan. We are grateful to the authorities.”
“The BNP men and the people are excited about the council which is being held after a gap of six years. The party will emerge stronger after the council and contribute to establishing a democratic government,” Rizvi Ahmed said.
A BNP leader said that the BNP aims to rejuvenate its leaders and activists through the council to intensify the anti-government movement demanding introduction of non-party government system to hold general election. He also said that BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia might announce people-friendly programmes to meet the demand.
BNP’s councillors and representatives were already in Dhaka and have been collecting their cards from the party’s Nayapaltan office. All preparations are almost complete for the council session. About 3,000 councillor cards and about 8,000 delegate cards have been distributed among the party leaders across the county, Nayapaltan party office sources said.
Khaleda Zia is scheduled to inaugurate the council at 10:00am. The main council session will begin at 3:00pm.
BNP has invited leaders of ruling and opposition political parties at both home and abroad to the council session. The party has invited ruling Awami League Chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to attend the council. BNP’s International Affairs Secretary Dr Asaduzzaman Ripon, also member of council preparatory sub-committee for international affairs, said foreign politicians and foreign diplomats in Dhaka have also been invited to the council.
According to him, Labour Party MP of Britain Simon Danczuk, former member of the European Parliament and British Liberal Democrat politician Phil Bennion and some other foreign leaders have already arrived in Dhaka on invitation from the BNP to join its council.
Dr Ripon also said that many of the foreign politicians, especially from India, China, Myanmar and Nepal, said they would not be able to attend the council due to lack of time.
The BNP is likely to bring major changes to its constitution and include more youths into leadership. The number of vice-chairmen, advisers and secretaries’ post may be increased, while some new faces may come in the standing committee, the party’s highest policy making body, sources said.
The standing committee meeting on Thursday night approved some amendments to the party constitution. The amendments include increasing the posts of vice-chairman from 17 to 35 and creating some new posts of secretaries and assistant secretaries. A subject-wise advisory committee will be introduced. The amendments will be placed in the council for approval.
Khaleda Zia is doing her homework for forming the party’s new national executive committee, taking current and previous lists of the party’s national executive committee and former party MPs, said a BNP leader close to the party high command.
BNP standing committee member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy said that the council session would bring in dynamic leadership and create a craze to intensify the current movement for democracy.
Although the council will be held to elect the National Executive Committee of the party for a three-year term, the party’s new leadership is going to be elected without voting. Many leaders and activists are upset, as they think that they will get selected central leadership through the national council, party insiders said.
As per constitution of the BNP, the central committee will be formed with maximum 351 members while the party chief reserves the right to change the number. The number cannot be raised by more than 10 per cent. A 19-member standing committee will also be formed through the council. As per the party’s constitution, BNP chairperson and senior vice-chairman will have to be elected through direct voting. But, Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman have been elected unopposed, as none contested against them. The party men think that the election to other important posts of the BNP is also going to take place in the same manner.
