Sultan Mansur has ‘belittled himself’ by taking oath as an MP, says Mirza Fakhrul

Sultan Md Mansur Ahmed has ‘belittled himself’ by taking oath as a member of parliament defying the opposition alliance, says BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

The BNP secretary general made the remarks after a human-chain programme near the National Press Club on Friday.

Sultan Mansur has ‘cheated’ the people by becoming a part of an ‘unrepresentative’ parliament, Mirza Fakhrul said.

“Mansur has demeaned and belittled himself in front of the people. Not only has he belittled himself, he has cheated the people by joining a parliament which does not represent the people.”

A former vice-president of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union or DUCSU and president of Bangladesh Chhatra League, Sultan Mansur had risen as high as to the position of organising secretary in the Awami League.

He joined the Gono Forum led by Dr Kamal Hossain after facing the wrath of the Awami League leadership for seeking reforms during the 2007-08 military-controlled caretaker government.

The Oikya Front secured only eight seats in the parliamentary polls on Dec 30; the BNP won six and the Gono Forum two.

The alliance rejected the results of the Dec 30 elections alleging widespread rigging and intimidation of its candidates and supporters. It said their MPs-elect would not take oath.

Sultan Mansur won the polls with the BNP’s paddy sheaf, which was also used by the Oikya Front alliance candidates.

But he took his oath of office in parliament on Thursday in defiance of the coalition decision against it.

Sultan claimed that he had informed Dr Kamal Hossain, who heads the Gono Forum and the Jatiya Oikya Front alliance, about his decision on joining parliament.

But the Gono Forum refuted the claim and later expelled him from the party on Thursday. He was also removed from the Oikya Front’s steering committee.