Rangpur people want Jatiya Party chief Ershad buried in his hometown

Rangpur people have demanded that Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad be laid to rest in his hometown.

The demand was made hours after the 90-year-old deposed military dictator died at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka around 7:45am on Sunday.

The local residents and leaders gathered at the Jatiya Party's office in the city on hearing the news of the death.

“Our leader had wished to be buried in his village home during a conversation with the leaders of different levels days before he fell ill. He also planned to build a complex on his grave. But he could not make it public as he fell sick suddenly,” Md Mustafizur Rahman Mostafa, Ranpur mayor and party presidium member of local unit, told reporters.

“That’s why, we’re appealing on behalf of Jatiya Party’s Rangur Division chapter and other associate units for his burial at his desired place," he said.

“He stood by us like our son from the beginning... He is the son of this soil. Why should he be laid to rest in another place? Rangpur should be Ershad’s final destination,” Zoynal Abedin, an associate of Ershad, told bdnews24.com.

‘Anwarul’, a van driver from Moynakuti, said, "We’ve voted for Ershad throughout our lives. People from all over the world know that Ershad is the son of Rangpur. Now we are hearing that he will not be buried in his birthplace. But we want him buried here."

“Most of the family members of Ershad had been laid to rest in Rangpur. The people of Rangpur have a special place for him. That's why, I think, sir (Ershad) should be buried in Rangpur," said Al-Amin, an engineer and local leader of Jatiya Party.

“Ershad had served six years in prison after he had been ousted from power in 1990. The people of Rangpur were the first to demand his release from jail. He should be buried in Rangpur for the Jatiya Party to have a bright future," said Lokman Hossain, another local leader of the party.