BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will sit with grassroots leaders today as the ruling party seeks to restore discipline and strengthen its organisational structure.
Party leaders said there is no formal agenda for the meeting, but they expect the party chief to issue a strict warning to leaders across the country to follow party rules and avoid any activities that could damage its image or give the opposition any scope to criticise it.
The meeting, to be held at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh auditorium in Dhaka’s Farmgate, may also give local leaders a chance to discuss the government’s activities, problems in their areas, internal conflicts, and weaknesses within their respective units.
Party insiders said grassroots leaders will likely tell Tarique that the selection of new leadership for committees whose terms have expired should proceed through elections.
This will be his first such meeting with grassroots leaders since becoming prime minister and the BNP’s return to power, said Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, PM’s political affairs adviser.
Presidents, general secretaries, conveners, and member secretaries of 81 units of Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal, and Swechchhasebak Dal are expected to attend and brief him on the current organisational situation, said Rizvi, also senior joint secretary general of BNP.
The leadership will inform Tarique that wrongdoing by some grassroots leaders is largely due to weak organisational control, as many local committees have expired or become inactive, creating room for controversial activities, said party insiders.
The terms of 10 out of 11 committees of the BNP’s affiliated and associate bodies have expired, they added.
The meeting is being held at a time when the BNP high command is concerned about the conduct of grassroots leaders and activists, as they are defying party instructions, engaging in criminal activities, obstructing law enforcers from discharging duties, and extorting money, said party insiders.
Some local leaders are even creating opportunities for people linked to the Awami League to get involved in BNP politics, they said.
“Recently, it has come to the notice that some groups, holding posts in Jubo Dal or using the identity of Jubo Dal, have been showing muscle power, rehabilitating associates of the fascist, extorting money, engaging in illegal occupation of property, and obstructing law enforcers from performing their duties ……” said a press release issued on May 5.
A standing committee member, who is also a minister, said on condition of anonymity that after the formation of the government, many senior party leaders have become less involved in organisational activities, creating space for controversial incidents at the grassroots.
“In some cases, party men even attacked police personnel. This is unacceptable. If such activities are not stopped immediately, they will cause greater damage to the party,” he said.
Several recent incidents have embarrassed the party leadership.
For instance, in Feni, a man reportedly linked to the AL and accused in a case filed over the attack on the motorcade of late BNP chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, was made general secretary of a ward unit BNP committee.
After the central leadership became aware of the matter, the BNP expelled him from the party. The district committee concerned was also suspended. President and general secretary of the municipal unit BNP were expelled for their role in forming the controversial committee.
In Faridpur’s Bhanga, the district BNP convener sought withdrawal of a murder case, calling it “political”, although the key accused is the vice-president of Bhanga municipality AL.
Party insiders said the incident raised questions about whether some local leaders were trying to take initiatives to drop cases by terming them politically motivated in order to protect people going against the party rules.
In another incident, police detained the president of Cumilla Sadar upazila BNP over allegations of extortion. His supporters then gathered outside the station and chanted slogans demanding his release. He was freed around 12 hours later, party sources said.
In Narayanganj, supporters of a Jubo Dal leader attacked police personnel and snatched away the leader, leaving several officers injured. After the incident, the Jubo Dal leader was expelled.
In Rajshahi, the city unit of Jubo Dal expelled two ward-level leaders over their alleged involvement in snatching a tender submission box from the Rajshahi Development Authority office. The tender box was under police protection when a group of unruly men forcibly took it away.
In another incident in Narayanganj, a ward BNP general secretary was expelled after allegations of taking money from a businessman.
In Joypurhat, a BNP leader from Punat union in Kalai upazila was fired after he was sent to jail in a cattle theft case.
