Jatiya Party`s Senior Co-Chairman Anisul Islam Mahmud has dismissed talk of renewed division in the party following a court order temporarily barring Chairman GM Quader from carrying out organisational duties.
He has instead emphasised “unity” within the party.
Anisul announced the party’s national conference would take place Saturday at the Emmanuel Convention Centre in Gulshan, reports bdnews24.com.
“There is no question of division here,” he said. “This is Ershad Sir’s 12th registered Jatiya Party Langol Marka Conference.”
On Jul 7, Quader dismissed 10 senior leaders, including Anisul, Co-Chairmen ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader, Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu, Office Secretary MA Razzak Khan, and Presidium Members Solaiman Alam Seth (Chattogram), Nazma Akhtar (Feni), Md Zahirul Islam Jahir (Tangail), Mostafa Al Mahmud (Jamalpur), Jasim Uddin (Netrokona), and Arifur Rahman Khan (Gazipur).
Those leaders later obtained a court order on Jul 31 suspending Quader and Joint Office Secretary Mahmud Alam from organisational activities.
A notice issued last Tuesday by the party’s office secretary, MA Razzak Khan, declared Quader removed and named Anisul acting chairman.
On Friday, Anisul appeared alongside ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader and Chunnu to announce the conference.
Chunnu said the presidium had moved quickly at its Tuesday meeting to set the conference date, aiming to “liberate” the party from “organisational stagnation” and prove it was not “an individual-centric party".
He said the gathering would signal a “re-emergence” of the Jatiya Party, with a message of “responsibility, discipline and unity” after its recent turmoil.
Calling the conference an exercise in “self-improvement” and “restructuring of the leadership of democracy,” Chunnu described it as “a day of awakening for grassroots workers” and “a new oath” for the party.
He said the party was moving forward “with the power of unity” and that he believed “the people of the country will once again look to the JaPa with expectations.”
Chunnu added, “The Jatiya Party will once again become a symbol of that faith.”
Ruhul Amin Howlader, in his remarks, said the differences with Quader stemmed from the chairman’s unwillingness to embrace joint leadership.
“We wanted to enrich the party in unity,” he said. “But GM Quader could not unite the party.”
He accused Quader of trying to “deprive” others of an opportunity to meet the country’s expectations.
Anisul later read out the instructions outlining his duties as acting chairman, reinstating all leaders dismissed by Quader.
He noted that Quader had not appealed the Jul 31 court order within the eight-day window, calling it a “funny matter” and questioning his reasons for not doing so.
Anisul said the Election Commission had been informed of Saturday’s conference and invited to send a representative.
He expressed his hope that leaders and activists from every district would attend.
“We want to bring back the spirit of the party.”
Rejecting suggestions of a split, Anisul said: “We are holding a council for the Jatiya Party, which is the 12th party registered with the Election Commission. We are legally holding a council with their observers after informing the Election Commission.”
He said he had reached out to Raushon Ershad and Anwar Hossain Manju, who were expected to attend, and was working to bridge “two or three more small differences” within the party.
“We want to end the divisions and make a united Jatiya Party,” he said.
Anisul indicated that changes to the party constitution would be considered to prevent any chairman from altering the committee in the future.
The Jatiya Party has a long history of internal rifts. Its first major split occurred after the fall of Ershad in the mass uprising of 1990. In 1997, another faction broke away under the leadership of Manju and Sheikh Shahidul Islam.
Further divisions followed in 1998 under Kazi Zafar and Shah Moazzem, in 2001 under Naziur Rahman, and in 2013 during a special council meeting.
After Ershad’s death, the party fractured again on Apr 20, 2024, when a group led by Raushon formed its own faction.
Anisul said the Saturday conference would bring all factions together into a “united” party.
