Bangladesh Awami Jubo League celebrates its 48th founding anniversary on Wednesday, during a time when the organization is focused on recovering their tarnished image following recent allegations of irregularities.
This year, Jubo League, which was formed on November 11, 1972, is facing challenges in forming a “clean” central committee, as their reputation took a hit as a series of allegations of illegal activities - including running casinos in Dhaka - surfaced last year.
A good number of Jubo League leaders came under fire for their activities - including former Dhaka South unit Jubo League president Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat, former organizing secretary of the same unit Khalid Mahmud, self-proclaimed member and businessman GK Shamim, and former Jubo League Dhaka North unit joint secretary general Tarequzzaman Rajib, since a crackdown began on September 18, 2019.
Shortly after that, on October 20, 2019, the then Jubo League chairman Omar Faruk Chowdhury was expelled due to the allegations.
Samrat, Khalid and Rajib were also expelled from their posts as the allegations surfaced.
After the casino scam came to light, Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina disbanded the party’s previous committee and selected Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash and Mainul Hossain Nikhil as the new president and general secretary on November 23, 2019.
Awami League top leaders said the prime minister instructed the new duo to cleanse the organization to regain its previous image.
Then Parash and Nikhil started their action plan and have been forming a full central committee for the past year.
A Jubo League top leader said they had submitted their full committee to the supreme authority, and it would be declared any day after getting the final nod from the Awami League president.
What is taking so long to form a committee?
Top leaders of Jubo League claimed that they had started the process of forming their full committee, but as Covid-19 broke out in Bangladesh, the leaders and activists became busy with providing assistance to people across the country.
Several sources of the government said this time, aspirants had passed multiple stages of verification from various government and political agencies so that no one with questionable background would be a part of Jubo League’s committee. It is also one of the main reasons for the delay in announcing the full committee, said.
“I have gotten more than five phone calls from various agencies after I showed interest in achieving a position in Jubo League’s central committee,” a former vice president of Bangladesh Chhatra League told Dhaka Tribune.
Who will be in the new committee?
Several sources in the Awami League and Jubo League top brass said the new central committee would comprise a lot of new faces, and the majority of old members would lose their positions as they are accused of scams.
“We will establish ourselves as a focused organization with a clean committee that will remove all stigma of the past,” Jubo League Chairman Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash told Dhaka Tribune on Tuesday.
Responding to a question, Parash said: “In the new committee, you will see a good number of top leaders of Chhatra League’s former committee. Those who have a clean image, have served the party’s various wings, are dedicated and capable, will be the flag bearer of Jubo League.”
Programs to mark the anniversary
Jubo League has chalked out different programs to mark the anniversary, BSS reports.
The plan includes hoisting of national and party flags at its central office at 6am, paying tributes to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, because of whom Jubo League came into being, at Dhanmondi 32 at 10am, and paying homage to martyred Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani and martyrs of August 15, 1975 at the Banani graveyard at 10:45am.
Every unit of Juba League will then take part at a tree planting program and will distribute food among the poor.
In a statement on the eve of the anniversary, Jubo League President Parash and General Secretary Nikhil greeted their leaders and members along with the people of the entire country.
Parash told Dhaka Tribune: “We want to make Jubo League a humanitarian organization. Our aim is to solidify the work of Sheikh Hasina.”
