Politics
MP Pankaj Debnath suspended from AL
Pankaj Debnath, the lawmaker of Barishal-4 P(Hizla-Mehendiganj), has been suspended from all posts of Awami League (AL) on charges of violating the party discipline.
In this regard, a letter signed by AL office secretary Biplob Barua was issued on Monday and later in the afternoon it was forwarded to the Barishal unit AL president Abul Hasnat Abdullah and general secretary Talukder Md Yunus.
When asked, lawmaker Pankaj Debnath said, “I received a letter concerning the matter from the central office. I have nothing to say at this moment.”
The letter reads, “As per the party constitution, AL executive committee has removed you from all AL posts including the advisory post of Barishal district unit AL, for violating the party rules and regulations. You are requested to submit your written explanation of the above-mentioned issue to the central AL office within the next 15 days.”
The Awami League said there is a longstanding feud between two factions of AL at Mehendiganj in Barishal. Centering the enmity, several people were murdered during the last Union Parishad (UP) elections.
Of the factions, one is led by Upazila AL president Maidul Islam and general secretary and pourashava mayor Kamal Khan with support from district AL while the other by MP Pankaj Debnath.
Sources said the followers of both groups hacked one another, storming into the emergency unit of the hospital at Mehendiganj on 28 August that left six leaders and activists wounded.
While the injured belonged to the group of Upazila AL president and secretary, the accused ones were the followers of Pankaj Debnath. Of the injured, four were taken to Barishal for better treatment.
District unit AL general secretary, Talukder Md Yunus, told that they received a letter over the expulsion of Pankaj Debnath from the party.
He said MP Pankaj took various kinds of ill attempts against local AL leaders in the last four years, including killing, repressing and implicating them in false cases, to divide the party at Mehendiganj in a bid to establish his supremacy.
In the context of these incidents, the central committee has come up with the decision, the general secretary added.
Lawmakers from the Awami League and independent candidates elected in the January 7 polls took their oath as members of the parliament today. The ceremony, administered by the 11th Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, commenced at 10:30 am in the Parliament Complex’s Oath Room.
Speaker Chaudhury, along with independent parliament members, took oath earlier, with Jatiya Party and other faction MPs following suit at 12 pm. The constitution mandates newly elected MPs to take the oath within three days of election results being published in an official gazette, as per Article 148 (2A). A gazette notification on the 12th National Elections’ results, detailing 298 newly elected members, was issued on Tuesday. The new cabinet is scheduled to be sworn in at Bangabhaban at 7 pm on Thursday (January 11).
The Awami League secured 222 out of 298 seats, with independent candidates, mostly aligned with AL, winning 62 seats. Jatiyo Party and single candidates from other parties also claimed victories. After the oath, the AL parliamentary party will elect Sheikh Hasina as their leader, paving the way for her fifth term as prime minister. The president will administer the oath to the new prime minister, who will then form a cabinet with ministers and state ministers chosen by her.
The Awami League (AL) is gearing up to celebrate its victory in the national polls with a rally in Dhaka. Scheduled for January 10 at Suhrawardy Udyan, the event coincides with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Homecoming Day, as announced by Obaidul Quader, the party’s general secretary, during a press conference at the Dhaka District Awami League office in Tejgaon on Monday afternoon.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the Awami League, is set to lead the rally, commencing at 2:30 pm. The Awami League secured an overwhelming majority in the parliamentary elections, winning 223 out of 299 seats. This decisive victory paves the way for Prime Minister Hasina’s fourth consecutive term and her fifth term in total. The rally at Suhrawardy Udyan serves as a platform for the Awami League to celebrate its triumph and rally support.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen stated that if the United States’ statements about the visa policy are accurate, then the policy should be applied to BNP leaders as they aim to disrupt the election. The foreign minister made these comments after a meeting with a US observer team at his residence in Sylhet in the evening.
He mentioned that BNP’s current popularity in the country has declined, and they have chosen the path of terrorism. He added that the people of the country are not concerned about Khaleda Zia’s imprisonment, and the party is suffering due to the immaturity of its leadership.
In response to a question, the minister mentioned that 227 observers and journalists from various countries worldwide would come to monitor the upcoming election. He noted that members of the US observer team did not provide comments on the election; instead, they were gathering information. The US team included Geoffrey McDonald, Senior Advisor, Asia Pacific, IRI, Amitab Ghosh, Senior Program Manager, IRI, and David Hogstra, Program Manager, IRI.
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