Ershad, too, calls Khaleda to quit cantt house

Rangpur, Apr 2 (bdnews24.com) – Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad Thursday asked BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia to leave her cantonment house, a day after prime minister Sheikh Hasina made a similar appeal. 

"I think she (Khaleda) should leave the house for the sake of democracy," he told reporters in Rangpur. 

"It is not right to run political activities in the cantonment. As the cantonment is a restricted area it will amount to sabotage if different sections of people move in the place," the former president said. 

Ershad, who was then the army chief, allotted the house to Khaleda after the killing of her husband, former president Ziaur Rahman. 

"I, as the army chief, allotted her the house being concerned about her two sons. If I knew that she would pursue politics there I would not allot it to her." 

Hasina told parliament Wednesday evening it was former president HM Ershad who was responsible for allocation of the 6 Shaheed Mainul Road house to Khaleda. 

"Ershad allotted the house to [Khaleda] violating law to make his sister-in-law (Khaleda) happy," Hasina said. 

The former president said Khaleda was also allocated a house in Gulshan; the two houses were allotted so that the family could survive well. 

"No member of parliament, no leader of the opposition, should live in the cantonment," Hasina said. 

"I will request her to leave her 6 Shaheed Mainul Road house in Dhaka Cantonment," she told parliament. 

"The cabinet will decide whether to cancel this allotted house. I alone cannot decide," she said. 

Earlier, Ershad cast his vote for by-polls at Senpara Government Primary School centre. 

He said the victory of his wife, Rawshan, was "confirmed" in the constituency, Rangpur-3. 

bdnews24.com/corr/su/bd/1211h.

Khaleda's cantonment house allocated flouting rules

PM says in JS, requests BNP chief to leave the house
Staff Correspondent

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the 6 Shaheed Mainul Road house in Dhaka Cantonment was allocated to Khaleda Zia violating the Cantonment Board's rules and her cabinet would decide about cancellation of the allocation.

"She [Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia] should not keep the house ignoring the law. She should leave the house willingly," Hasina, also leader of the House, said in parliament.

The premier said if Khaleda returns the house the government would construct apartment buildings on that 2.72-acre land and allocate two apartments for each of the families of army officers, who were brutally killed in the BDR carnage.

"Each of the family can live in one flat and rent another. She [Khaleda] should give the house to the martyrs' families."

In reply to a query of AL lawmaker Nazrul Islam Babu, the PM said she checked the minutes of the cabinet meeting held on June 12, 1981. The cabinet did not allocate the 6 Mainul Road house for Khaleda; rather it allocated a house for her in Gulshan, Hasina added. 

"She was supposed to leave the Mainul Road house. But she took the property in her name in addition to allocation of a house in Gulshan," the premier added. 

AL lawmaker and former law minister Abdul Matin Khasru drew the premier's attention that the house was leased for 99 years for Khaleda under some conditions including restriction on political activities from the house.

But Khaleda violated the condition as she has been carrying out political activities staying at the house, and head office of Dandy dyeing was set up there, Khasru claimed. The AL lawmaker asked whether the government will cancel the lease on grounds of violation of conditions.

The premier said it's true the cantonment authorities cannot allocate the house, which was allocated for Khaleda violating laws.

"Her [Khaleda Zia] family took loan mortgaging the house to bank, which is also violation of the condition of the lease," the premier said. 

During the question-answer, the leader of the house several times asked the leader of the opposition to return the house to the army.

Hasina also said her younger sister Sheikh Rehana would also give to the martyrs' families the one-bigha land in Dhanmondi which she was allocated in 2001 at the fag-end of the then AL government.

"We will construct apartments there and give some of the martyr families," Hasina said.

The past BNP government cancelled the allocation of land for Rehana and established Dhanmondi police station there.

In reply to a query of Jatiya Party lawmaker Hafizuddin Ahmed, the premier said if anybody is to be responsible for allocation of the Mainul Road house for Khaleda, former president HM Ershad should be responsible. 

"Violating the law, Ershad allocated the house for Khaleda Zia," Hasina said.

The PM said the former prime minister [Khaleda] has now crores of taka and is no more insolvent and should leave the house.

Referring to the wealth statement submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission by Khaleda, the PM also mentioned her wealth.

"We heard Ziaur Rahman left nothing for her family members. But the wealth statement submitted to ACC shows Ziaur Rahman purchased land in Savar and Uttarkhan in Uttara.

"Why will you live in the cantonment being a political leader? You were allocated another house on one-and-a-half-bigha land in Gulshan, then why will you keep the army's land?" Hasina asked.

"If you [Khaleda] now leave the house for the martyrs' families, the people will respect you more," the premier said.

She said she had a meeting with bankers, who have agreed to provide Tk 40,000 per month for each of the families of army officers, who were killed in BDR mutiny, for ten years. 

In a scripted reply, the premier informed the House about the facilities given to Khaleda and her two sons following the assassination of former president Ziaur Rahman.

As per her reply, Khaleda was allocated two houses, one in Gulshan and another in cantonment, Tk 10 lakh was donated to her and her two sons, Tk 1,500 a month as stipend for her sons for their studies in home and abroad until 1986, and one vehicle with necessary fuel and a driver.

The premier said Khaleda is now living at the cantonment residence and rented the Gulshan house and is enjoying all other facilities.

"But me and my sister did not take any state facilities," Hasina asserted.

The premier also mentioned that the past BNP government cancelled allocation of the two houses, which were allocated for her and her sister. Besides, the other facilities the then AL government gave to daughters of Bangabandhu were also not met.

BNP starts party restructuring

Abdur Rahman Khan 
 

Facing manifold pressures from inside and outside, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main opposition in Bangladesh, has geared up its pprogramme to revamp the party organisation in line with the suggestions received from grassroots consultation.
  After the debacle in the general elections on December 28, BNP opted for soul-searching and consultation with the grassroots leaders to assess the causes of failure. Under a central plan, BNP held review meetings with the leaders of district, upazila and union levels in groups during the month of February. 
  Six central groups were formed to compile the reports for six divisions. The reports have already been submitted to party Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. Only last week, she initiated meetings with senior leaders to review the divisional reports.
   
  Nepotism, opportunism
  According to party sources, the grassroots leaders have attributed party's failure to weak organisational performance, corruption and nepotism by BNP ministers and MPs. They also reported to the central leadership that the dedicated and honest workers and leaders at local level were ignored allowing the corrupt and opportunists to run the show during BNP's tenure in the government. 
  The grassroots leaders suggested reorganising the party units through election of honest and dedicated leadership at all level. They opposed any interference from the top in electing local committees. 
  During the consultation meetings, many BNP grassroots leaders expressed their displeasure over the electoral alliance with Jamaat saying that BNP being a centrist and liberal democratic party had to pay heavily for the stigma Jamaat was inheriting since the liberation of the country. 
  Meanwhile, BNP has decided to dissolve soon its 75 district committees, all ineffective and date-expired, by assigning ad hoc committees to prepare for the council and elect a regular committee. The party has also printed new membership forms to collect fresh members keeping in view the councils of union, upazila and district units in next few months. 
  After reorganising the lower level committees, BNP will take preparation for holding national council by July 25, the dateline agreed while getting registration from the Election Commission last year. 
   
  Council after 14 years
  According to party constitution, the national council is supposed to be held after every two years. The last council of BNP was held in 1993 and for last 14 years the party has been functioning under a date-expired central executive committee. By this time, many of the central executive members have died, some expelled and many turned reformists, opportunists and 'undesirable'.
  There is a growing demand within the party to reorganise the highest policy-making body, standing committee, that expelled a stalwart like Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui only last week for a highly controversial action against the party chairperson. 
   
  Govt's repression
  Meanwhile, Governent's repressions are also mounting on BNP with many of its workers and leaders being killed, thrown behind the bars, implicated on flimsy charges and hostile atmosphere inside the parliament.
  The standing committee in its meeting on March 23 reviewed the situation that BNP leaders and organizers were currently facing. If the situation continued to aggravate, BNP may be compelled to opt for taking the course of movement, the meeting observed. 
  "The government is pushing the opposition to take to the street", BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (rtd) Mahbubur Rahman said adding that "the government has started repression on the opposition. A former deputy speaker was arrested on a silly and flimsy issue".
  Former Deputy Speaker and BNP leader Akhter Hamid Siddiqui was arrested under Special Powers Act for "seditious statement". Ahead of the parliamentary by-election, a probe committee was formed against former Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar who is contesting from a Bogra seat vacated by Begum Zia. 
  BNP leadership observes that the Government is trying to keep them under pressure so that they can not go for any immediate agitation or cash in on the public discontent generated out of government failures.

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