Running without a chairman is Jatiya Party

Due to a court order prohibiting GM Quader from performing his organizational duties as chairman, the main opposition Jatiya Party has been operating without a chairman for more than a month.

Until GM Quader regains his authority from the court, many leaders and activists want any other leader to assume the role of acting chairman.

According to Syed Abu Hossain Babla, co-chairman of the Jatiya Party, "Our party's highest forum, including its main patron, co-chairmen, and presidium body, will decide about this after discussing if any other leader will be given duty as acting chairman."

But a different co-chairman, Kazi Feroz Rashid, declared, "GM Quader is currently our party chairman. Nothing else is on our minds in this regard.

The Appellate Division on Wednesday upheld the verdict of a lower court that barred GM Quader from performing his duties as chairman of Jatiya Party.

The Jatiya Party is running without chairman for half and one months as a Dhaka court on October 31 issued an injunction barring GM Quader from taking any political decision about the party.

The injunction came following an application filed by party’s former lawmaker Advocate Ziaul Haque Mridha.

Ziaul Haque Mridha, also a former adviser to the Jatiya Party chairman, was expelled from the party on September 17 this year.

Talking to the Daily Sun, a number of central leaders of Jatiya Party said the party remains almost ‘dysfunctional’ due to inactivity of GM Quader as the party chairman.

They said the party chief patron Raushon Ershad, co-chairmen and presidium body should take step immediately to revive the party as only around 11 months are left for the next general election.

“Jatitya Party remains standstill for around two months as GM Quader can’t perform as the party chairman. In this situation, any other leader should be given responsibility of acting chairman to run the party activities,” a senior leader told the Daily Sun, wishing not to be named.

He further said the party activities are being seriously ‘hampered’ as the party chairman has supreme power in many issues of the party, as per the charter of Jatiya Party.

“A large number of leaders and activists expect that either party chief patron Raushon Ershad or party’s senior co-chairman Annisul Islam Mahmud will take responsibility of acting chairman to overcome the current stalemate,” a senior leader said.

Jatiya Party insiders said GM Quader has expelled a number of central leaders, including former JP secretary general Moshiur Rahman Ranga and Mridha, after assuming post of Jatiya Party chairman in the last council.

The leaders who have been removed from Jatiya Party have taken side Raushon Ershad as their ‘guardian’ in the party and want curtailing the supreme authority of GM Quader inside the part, the sources added.

Amid the party deadlock, opposition leader Raushon Ershad and deputy leader of the opposition GM Quader on Tuesday met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and discussed various issues, including Jatiya Party.

Jatiya Party sources said the party’s two top leaders during their meeting with the Prime Minister expressed their desire to field candidates for the upcoming by-elections in the parliamentary seats which have fallen vacant following resignation of BNP lawmakers.