Abdul Jalil could not resume his position as general secretary of Awami League (AL) because of the way he criticised party President Sheikh Hasina in his ‘mercy petition’ to the caretaker government in July last year, said AL sources.
He was pushed aside and Syed Ashraful Islam was asked to continue as acting general secretary on orders from Hasina, who is now in the US, they added.
“She [Hasina] couldn’t forget what he [Jalil] wrote in his mercy petition at a time critical for the party,” a senior AL leader told The Daily Star, preferring not to be named.
Jalil’s petition to Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed was scathing about Hasina. He said the AL chief runs the party like a dictator. She leaves no room for anyone to go against her dictates.
The former commerce minister also observed that Hasina never bothers to pay heed to others in the party and it all ended in disaster for the party.
Asked if Hasina insisted on Syed Ashraf’s carrying on as the acting general secretary, AL acting president Zillur Rahman yesterday said, “The decision has been taken through discussions among us.”
Earlier on Thursday, Jalil announced that he was assuming responsibilities as general secretary. He made the announcement after placing wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Bangabandhu Bhaban in Dhanmondi.
Jalil returned home on August 31 after a six months’ stay in Singapore for treatment. After the High Court granted him a 40-day ad interim bail Wednesday, he declared he is back in politics.
Sources said Jalil came up with the announcement on suggestions from an influential presidium member that he would better move now, or else he would lose his position.
“He should not have followed the presidium member’s suggestion which I think was an ill-advice. It was indeed foolhardy for him to ignore the party chief’s request for him to take rest,” a senior AL leader said in return for anonymity.
Insiders said AL is planning to hold a presidium meeting within a couple of days. After the meeting, the it would make a formal announcement in presence of Jalil.
At the news briefing, Jalil might announce that he is not taking up charge as general secretary for health reasons, and Syed Ashraf would fill in for him.
For getting back to his position, Jalil will have to wait till Hasina returns home.
“A decision whether he will be reinstated as general secretary will be made after the leader [Hasina] returns home,” Zillur Rahman told reporters yesterday.
He said Jalil has not been reinstated on ‘technical grounds’.
Asked about Jalil’s statement that as per the AL constitution he is the general secretary, the acting AL chief said, “He spoke about the constitution without fully understanding it.”
Queried about Zillur’s statement, Jalil said, “I won’t say anything in this regard.”
Similarly, most of the senior leaders refrained from making any comments.
Asked what he meant by ‘technical grounds’, Zillur said, “Mr Jalil had resigned his position as general secretary under special circumstances. The matter has not been resolved yet, and he won’t be given the charge until there’s a resolution.”
Jalil in his petition to the government wrote, “For my grave health condition and looking at the faces of my family and the dear little sons, I have decided to retire from politics if necessary. I humbly request you (the government) to release me and not to extend my detention on humanitarian grounds.”
Asked if the party might be affected adversely for the latest developments regarding Jalil and Ashraf, Zillur said, “We have not left Mr Jalil. He is still with us.”
ZILLUR BRIEFING
Briefing journalists at his Gulshan residence yesterday morning, Zillur said Jalil returned among them after suffering a lot while in detention.
“We are happy he has returned among us. Only due to technical reasons he has not been given back the charge of general secretary,” he said.
Zillur observed that it was good for Jalil if he did not hurry to take the charge.
CITY AL PRESS CONFERENCE
Dhaka City AL at a press conference at the party’s central office on Bangabandhu Avenue yesterday demanded immediate withdrawal of all “false” charges against Hasina and other leaders who have been either detained or on the run.
The government has no right to keep anyone detained after release of Tarique Rahman, observed city AL acting general secretary Quamrul Islam
Reading out a statement, he demanded lifting of the state of emergency and announcement of parliamentary polls schedule.
He said they would forge a strong movement if the government attempts to hold upazila polls before the national election.
Categories: Bangla, Bangladesh, Bangladesh News
