Furore in Parliament after BNF demands Ershad’s office moved out of Banani

Bangladesh Nationalist Front (BNF) Chairman Abul Kalam Azad has created a furore in Parliament by demanding relocation of Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad’s office from Banani along with Khaleda Zia's office from Gulshan.

Parliament Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 16 Feb 2015, 06:27 PM
Updated : 16 Feb 2015, 06:27 PM

Several Jatiya Party (JP) MPs vehemently protested Azad’s remark on Monday.

Some JP lawmakers had also charged towards him. Azad was heard at the time calling JP an 'autocratic' party.

The office of the BNP chief in capital Dhaka's Gulshan has been at the centre of a controversy, as Khaleda has been staying there for the past one month and announcing party programmes from there.

JaSaD MP Shirin Akhter, after taking part in a siege demanding the withdrawal of the ongoing nationwide blockade and shutdown at Khaleda's office earlier in the day, started the unscheduled discussion in the evening.

She demanded that the government move the BNP chief's office from the diplomatic zone, Gulshan. She also demanded Khaleda's arrest.

Abul Kalam Azad

Joining the discussion, MP Abul Kalam Azad, who in Parliament represents Dhaka-17 constituency that includes Gulshan, said, "All political offices must be relocated from the diplomatic zone. I said this in Parliament earlier."
"The office of another political party, Jatiya Party, is also in that area. It should be moved too."
His comments drew sharp protests immediately from Jatiya Party MPs. Among the top party leaders, only Secretary General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu was present in the House at the time.
Some JP MPs, angry over his comments, rushed towards him while several others started screaming, "Grab him! Get him down!"
Azad responded by calling JP the government's 'loyal opposition party' and 'autocratic'.
He continued, "Don't stop me. You can protest, but I will finish what I want to say. All political offices must be removed from my constituency."
Deputy Speaker Md Fazle Rabbi Miah at the time failed to calm down the Jatiya Party deputies.
However, getting the floor after a briefly tense period, JP's Nilphamari-4 MP Md Sawkat Chowdhure attacked the Dhaka-17 MP.
"I don’t even know the name of the party he's (Azad) from. He got elected as MP because of Mr Ershad's kindness. Honourable Speaker, his remarks must be expunged. Otherwise, we'll walk out of Parliament."
Azad for the first time had contested and won from the Dhaka-17 seat in the last general elections held in January last year after JP chief Hussein Muhammad Ershad withdrew nominations.

Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu

Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu later told Parliament, "Khaleda Zia's office and Ershad's office have been compared as equals. His (Azad) remarks are insulting."
"Orders to carry out bomb attacks are coming from Khaleda Zia's office; not from Mr Ershad's office."
He also called for erasing Azad's remarks from the record of proceedings and demanded his unconditional apology.
Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah said, "I didn't hear clearly what Abul Kalam Azad said due to the hullaballoo. If he said anything non-parliamentary or offensive, I'll inspect first and then expunge them."
He also told Bablu, "I can't say anything from my chair about what you demanded (unconditional apology from Azad). If he regrets the comments, he'll do that on his own."