Awami League’s controversial lawmaker Golam Maula Rony, on Tuesday, allegedly staged the drama of his resignation to gain political advantage out of it, apparently to save his parliament membership.
Awami League leaders and the party whip said Rony was under huge pressure after the media broke the news of him assaulting two journalists.
He managed bail from the lower court but failed to meet the party leadership. Several times Rony tried to contact party chief Sheikh Hasina to clarify his position but she declined to see him.
He then posted a comment on his Facebook account announcing that he was going to resign as MP. Excited at the positing, the media ran breaking news on his resignation.
The party leadership including Hasina then intervened and asked Whip ASM Feroz to stop his resignation.
Before entering the speaker’s office at 2:20pm, Rony said he would discuss the procedure of resignation with Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury. Around 2:45pm, Whip ASM Feroz entered the speaker’s office.
After his meeting with the speaker Rony said: “I am not resigning today [Tuesday].” He then told reporters to go to the media centre where he would clarify the reason behind his U-turn.
Then Rony, ASM Feroz and the reporters got on a lift to go to the media centre outside the parliament building.
Feroz looked exited on the ground floor. He said in a conciliatory gesture: “Rony, OK?” Rony too said “OK” – a reply from which it was obvious that he would act in line with the instruction.
Rony told reporters that his party and the Jatiya Sangsad were “not embarrassed by his activities”. His party had not asked him to resign.
Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on Wednesday, however, denied saying anything like “the Jatiya Sangsad is not embarrassed”.
Little-known Rony managed to get Awami League nomination by exerting his influence from his involvement in the media since early 1990s. He finally became a lawmaker at 41.
But as the media personality suddenly turned against media men, it turned him into a villain overnight.
In early 1990s, Rony became the editor of the country desk of a Bangla daily The Bhor in Dhaka while studying as the student of law at the Dhaka University.
He was a low-ranking leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League of the Sir F Rahman Hall unit. He then switched to another daily The Khobor.
Rony managed the Awami League nomination as Sheikh Hasina did not nominate the reformist leader AKM Jahangir Hossain, who was a two-time MP and a state minister.
Since Rony was elected lawmaker of the Patuakhali-3 (Golachipa-Doshamina) constituency on Awami League ticket on December 29, 2008 polls, he has drawn the attention of common people for his pro-Islamic speech in the Jatiya Sangsad.
He also earned admiration of the viewers for his blistering attacks on his own party Awami League on television talk shows.
He, in a talk show in the private TV Channel-I, termed Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet “worthless”. Rony told the programme that the controversial communications minister Syed Abul Hossain got a berth in the cabinet by winning a race in China.
Syed Abul Hossain, Saber Hossain Chowdhury and others accompanied Sheikh Hasina in a tour of China. Sheikh Hasina told her entourage to take part in a race among themselves.
“I will make him the minister whoever wins the race,” Rony quoted Hasina as telling them in China.
“Abul Hossain was chosen as minister since he won the race,” he told on the talk show, making the minister the butt of a joke.
Hasina called Rony for clarification over his comment. He told Sheikh Hasina that a TV reporter who accompanied Sheikh Hasina in the tour disclosed the information.
The prime minister then warned him not to make any controversial comment about the party and the government.
But he did not stop. Rather his criticism of the party and the government in the media continued.
He beat up many local reporters for running reports on his activities in his constituency.