Bangladesh News

Former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s counsel TH Khan yesterday told the High Court (HC) that the Election Commission (EC) wants to destroy BNP.

He also said a conspiracy is on to split and destroy the organisation.

He made the observations during a hearing on an HC rule regarding EC’s letter inviting Major(retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, the acting secretary general appointed by the standing committee, to represent BNP in the dialogue on electoral reforms.

Before the hearing began, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, former secretary general expelled by Khaleda Zia, became a party to the ongoing proceedings with the HC bench granting his petition to that end.

Barrister Masood R Sobhan, who moved the Bhuiyan’s petition, told journalists that his client felt aggrieved the way his name came many a time in the case and that is why he decided to be involved in it.

He said the decision expelling Bhuiyan from the post of secretary general was not approved by the standing committee.

He claimed Bhuiyan, former LGRD and cooperatives minister, is still a member of the standing committee and he was present in its meeting on October 29 last year.

When the matter came yesterday for hearing on the HC rule on the EC the court first heard Bhuiyan’s petition.

Opposing Bhuiyan’s prayer, TH Khan said the petition is not maintainable and questioned Bhuiyan’s legal capacity to be party of the case.

Sobhan said, “We just want to save our skin, we have no allegation against anyone.”

After submissions from both sides, the bench comprising justices Mirza Hossein Haider and Mamnun Rahman allowed Bhuiyan to be a party and started hearing on the rule.

Earlier on November 18, an HC bench issued the rule on the commission, Maj (retd) Hafiz, six standing committee members and the government, asking them to reply why the EC’s invitation letter to Hafiz should not be declared illegal.

The commission on November 5 invited Hafiz to the dialogue that was scheduled for November 22 last year. Earlier on October 29, the standing committee appointed M Saifur Rahman and Hafiz as acting chairman and acting secretary general of BNP.

But the EC cancelled its invitation after the HC had stayed operation of the letter. The stay came in response to a writ petition filed by Khaleda challenging the legality of the letter.

TH Khan yesterday told the court that from reading the resolution of the standing committee’s October 29 meeting one can be confirmed that Bhuiyan was indeed expelled by the chairperson. They also [standing committee] conceded that Khandaker Delwar was appointed secretary general by Khaleda.

And nothing of this has been challenged at the meeting. Rather their replacing Khandaker Delwar as secretary general on health grounds implies they accepted his appointment, Khan argued.

He said the BNP constitution does not provide for appointing an acting secretary general.

He said, “The resolution should be the source of argument here and it says every action at that meeting was against the [BNP] constitution.”

Regarding out the resolution, he claimed some of the participants in the committee meeting say they were given a pre-arranged paper and asked to sign, which they did.

The now detained former prime minister’s counsel said he has statements in affidavit about the meeting from four of the participants.

Besides, he said, the resolution does not say who convened the meeting.

According to party constitution, as the party chairperson only Khaleda Zia has the authority to convene a standing committee meeting, he added.

However, what is there in the BNP constitution is not to be judged by the court here, he contended.

The court will examine the matter in accordance with the printed materials available.

He argued that as the secretary general, Khandaker Delwar has all the right to represent BNP in any dialogue or meeting.

But the EC deprived him of that right and it was unlawful.

The lawyer at that point remarked that the basic point is a conspiracy is there to divide the party. “The chief election commissioner sitting at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar office wants to destroy BNP,” he added.