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Download PDF Khandaker Delwar Hossain, Khaleda Zia-appointed secretary general of BNP, is allegedly under renewed pressure to accept the ‘unity proposal’ given by Saifur Rahman, the acting chairman appointed by the party’s standing committee.
Delwar’s close aide Rizvi Ahmed, also the acting office secretary of the party’s pro-Khaleda faction, yesterday told The Daily Star that certain quarters have been pressurising Delwar to accept the proposal.
of the party’s pro-Khaleda faction, yesterday told The Daily Star that certain quarters have been pressurising Delwar to accept the proposal.
Most pro-Khaleda leaders and former lawmakers of BNP view Saifur’s unity initiative as a new ‘conspiracy’ against Khaleda Zia and they do not want Delwar to make any compromise with pro-Saifur leaders.
Leaders of the pro-Saifur faction are planning to unite both factions of BNP by appointing a new acting secretary general who would be acceptable to all, keeping Saifur Rahman as the acting chairman in Khaleda’s absence, said several BNP leaders.
Delwar would even be encouraged to discuss the proposal with detained party chief Khaleda, sources said.
“According to the media reports and observing the situation, it seems to me that different quarters are putting pressure on him [Delwar] with the initiative. Party leaders and workers however believe that the party is united under the leadership of Khaleda Zia and Khandaker Delwar Hossain,” Rizvi Ahmed said.
Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, member of BNP standing committee and a pro-Saifur leader, rejected the allegation saying that there is no scope for pressurising any leader in the party. The ones raising such allegations are suffering from inferiority complex, he added.
“Unity is a must in the party and we sent the message to them [leaders loyal to Delwar] — to which they responded positively,” Mahbub told The Daily Star last night.
“Discussion is on to bring unity in the party and senior leaders from both sides are talking with each other through different channels,” he added.
On Saturday, Saifur Rahman talked with Delwar Hossain over the phone and made a proposal to unite the party. Delwar in response told Saifur that the proposal could be considered if the pro-Saifur committee is cancelled and Khaleda’s decision to expel Mannan Bhuiyan and Ashraf Hossain from the party is accepted.
Delwar also requested Saifur to speak with detained party chief Khaleda regarding the proposal as he would accept any decision taken by her.
Earlier, following the BNP standing committee meeting on October 29 held at Saifur Rahman’s Gulshan residence, Delwar alleged that he had been threatened with death by a certain quarter if he did not attend the meeting. He also claimed that he was forcefully ousted from the post of secretary general of BNP.
December 5th, 2007 at 8:57 am
[...] MarkHodder.com put an intriguing blog post on Delwar under pressure to accept Saifurâ??s offer [...]