BNP to deprived leaders: Wait till next council

Admitting that many competent leaders did not get proper positions in BNP's new mammoth committee, the party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday asked the deprived leaders to wait until the next council. “There is no possibility right now because the committee has been announced. If any person thinks they were deprived, they should wait for the next council of the party,” Fakhrul told journalists at the BNP Headquarters in Nayapaltan. The BNP's announcement of a new 502-member executive committee on Saturday triggered widespread outrage among many party leaders who felt they were deprived of their deserving positions while many controversial names were included in the committee. “Whenever any committee of any political party is announced, some dedicated leaders get deprived. It is normal that it is impossible to accommodate such a huge number of competent people. From that perspective, it was not possible for our chairperson [Khaleda Zia] to accommodate all,” Fakhrul said on Monday. However, when announcing the new committee on Saturday, Fakhrul had termed the new body dynamic and vibrant. Soon after that announcement, BNP leaders Mosaddek Ali Falu and Shamimur Rahman Shamim tendered their resignation citing personal reasons, while sources tell the Dhaka Tribune that a good number of senior leaders are also thinking of quitting politics. But Fakhrul urged the disappointed leaders to remain patient. “There will be no use in demonstrating. Keep patience, because there is no last word in politics.” Asked whether any BNP leader influenced the formation of the new committee, Fakhrul said: “It is propaganda. A quarter has been propagating from the beginning to demean the BNP.” Fakhrul also blamed media for its biased behaviour. “You [journalists] are now finding the loopholes of BNP but you are not finding out the loopholes of the ruling party,” he claimed.