Ershad warns rebel voices in party

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Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman HM Ershad yesterday said he will not tolerate anyone in the party ranks defying his decision on whether to join the ruling coalition.
He voiced the warning at a view-exchange meeting with grassroots level leaders from Comilla, Chandpur and Brahmanbaria districts.

On the issue of joining the four-party alliance, the former president said, “I only have shared my views with the BNP high-ups and it has yet to be finalised. However, I hope we will be able to reach a consensus.”

Many of the JP rank and file, meanwhile, said they will back the party chairman in whatever decision he should take regarding electoral alliance.

They believe Jamaat will not be a factor in the national election if JP joins hands with the ruling BNP.

“It’s quite natural that he [Ershad] would like to continue political activities with honour and he would not want to be in jail again and which is why he is thinking over siding with the ruling coalition,” Ibrahim Khan, organising secretary of Jatiya Sramik Party, Chandpur told The Daily Star.

Mustafizur Rahman, joint secretary of Comilla (North) JP, said,”Jamaat has no position anywhere in Comilla and I think they are in fact a threat to the country.”

Referring to the speeches of Jamaat leaders, JP Chairman Ershad said, “The party [Jamaat] will be banned if Awami League comes to power again. So, they should rather think about their future.”

On the recent comments by AL President Sheikh Hasina, he said, “She has called me a thief what I’m not and have never been. I never tried to take the Gonobhaban when I was in power and everybody knows about the million dollar corruption in the purchase of MiG-29s and a frigate.”

“I was not involved in corruption and neither did I kill anyone,” he claimed.

Replying to Hasina’s remark that Ershad is the killer of former president Ziaur Rahman, he said,”Begum Zia knows very well that I did not kill her husband. She also knows that I am not ungrateful. It was Zia who had appointed me the army chief.”

“Awami League had failed to utilise the support we lent to them after the election in 1996,” he said adding that AL has divided his party in return for his support for them to regain power after 21 years.

“I will do whatever it takes to assume power and organise my party. The countrymen believe that JP will return to power under its present leadership,” Ershad observed.

Both the AL and BNP have split up several times but JP has not, only a few selfish leaders have left the party, he added.

JP would have been the number one political party had they not left the party, the JP chairman said adding, “But it’s no problem for us anymore and we will be able to be in power even with the present condition of the party.”

“If I could move freely during the last election, we would have won at least 64 seats,” he claimed.

Col (retired) Tofazzal Hossain, leader of Comilla-5, said, “Not only about the post of president, we should be cautious about seat sharing as well.”

“We should work together to achieve our goal in the next election and the JP leaders and workers must obey the decisions of the party chairman,” Syed Master, president Debidwar upazila JP, said.

Among others, Raushan Ershad, Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Kazi Firoj Rashid, Moshiur Rahman Ranga were present at the meeting.

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