Staff Reporter :
The high command of ruling Awami League has categorically warned the top leaders of party’s Chittagong unit not to patronize any faction of Chhatra League those are allegedly involved in different crimes, including extortion and tender business.
To convey the warning and dissolve the internal conflict between the senior AL leaders, party’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader, who is also Road Transport and Bridges Minister, rushed to Chittagong on Sunday.
Quader sat in a closed-door meeting with city unit president ABM Mohiduddin Chowdhury and general secretary AZM Nasiruddin for about 90 minutes at Mohiduddin’s Chasma Hill residence in the city under the cover of having breakfast.
Vice-Chancellor of Chittagong University Iftekher Uddin Chowdhury, Mohiuddin’s son Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury Nowfel, DIG of Chittagong Range Md Shafiqul Islam, Deputy Commissioner Shamshul Arefin, senior police officers and BCL leaders, among others, was present.
CU BCL president Alamgir Tipu, who is known as follower of Nasir, skipped the meeting. Quader started for Dhaka at about 10:30am.
“The meeting was held with a view to maintaining discipline in the party’s rank and file resolving the internal conflict. Only two years left for the national election and so, we want to resolve our problems in the meantime,” Obaidul Quader said.
Insiders said the conflict between Mohiduddin and Nasir has taken a dangerous turn in the recent days where several BCL leaders have reportedly killed and many others received injuries in factional clashes in the last few years.
In the latest incident, the death of CU student Diyaz ignited huge ‘confusion’ when the family members claimed that he was murdered following a conflict between two BCL factions over grabbing a tender at CU on Nov 20. The victim, an assistant secretary of the BCL’s central body and vice-president of the BCL’s CU unit, was found dead at his home on the university campus.. The autopsy report said it was a suicide, but his BCL loyalists claimed rivals murdered him and hung up the body to cover it up. They also claimed Assistant Proctor Hossain’s involvement in the murder.
The family rejected the autopsy report and on Nov 24, filed a case with a Chittagong court accusing 10 persons, including Hossain for murdering Diyaz.
In another incident, Mohiduddin and Nasir extended their support to two rival panels of Swadhinata Chikitsok Forum in the last Thursday’s election of Bangladesh Medical Association [BMA]. Accordingly, the leaders and activists of BCL, Jubo League and other associate organizations became divided in favour of two leaders, and subsequently its influence was reflected in the election.
Now, the pray’s central command fears, there may be a negative impact of their rivalry in the next general election, which could be damaging for the party. For that reason, the party high-ups are now trying to minimize their conflict
There is widespread allegation that, both the Chittagong top leaders maintain their groups, especially in the BCL, apparently to fortify their own camps. And these two groups often locked in armed clashes resulting to murder and injuring general students.
In the meeting, expressing severe discontent over the conflict of the duo Quader said: “You [Mohiuddin] are our senior leader and you [Nasir] are younger. There may be difference of opinion. But you [both] must not play mud sliding game. If there is any problem, please inform me. If I fail to give solution, we will inform it to party president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”
