Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud, chairman of one faction of the Jatiya Party, has claimed that according to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) and the party constitution, the party’s 10th national council was held on 9 August.
At that council, he was elected chairman and ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader as secretary general, making their leadership the only legitimate one.
Speaking at an emergency press conference in Gulshan, Dhaka, on Saturday (27 September), Mahmud said, “GM Quader is now just an ordinary member of the party. If he continues to spread confusion over this, legal action will be taken.” He further claimed that his faction is the sole claimant to the party’s plough symbol and has already submitted a new committee to the Election Commission.
His remarks follow comments by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A M M Nasir Uddin last Thursday, when he said there were multiple claimants to the Jatiya Party’s plough symbol and the commission could not identify the legitimate owner.
Mahmud said, “We have submitted all documents from the council to the Election Commission. With the formation of the new committee, GM Quader can no longer claim to be chairman of the Jatiya Party. The plough is not any individual’s property but the registered electoral symbol of the Jatiya Party.”
He alleged that some groups were filing separate applications to the Election Commission to create confusion, but emphasized that under the law and the party constitution, only a democratically elected leadership could validly apply for the symbol.
Questioning GM Quader’s political stance, Mahmud said, “Sometimes he says he wants Sheikh Hasina hanged, then he says elections without Awami League would not be valid. Even he doesn’t know what he wants. It’s time to rethink how relevant such double standards are in politics.”
The press conference was attended by ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader, executive chairman Mujibul Haque Chunnu, senior co-chairman Kazi Firoz Rashid, co-chairman Syed Abu Hossain Babla, Shahidur Rahman Tepa, Shafiqul Islam Sentu, Liakat Hossain Khoka, Zahirul Islam Zahir, and Mostafa Al Mahmud, among others.
