15 Jatiya Party MPs write to speaker for appointment of Quader as opposition leader

The Jatiya Party has written to Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury seeking the appointment of its Chairman GM Quader as the leader of the official opposition in parliament amid an ongoing rift within the party over the post.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 3 Sept 2019, 08:17 PM
Updated : 3 Sept 2019, 08:17 PM

A group of Jatiya Party MPs led by Kazi Firoz Rashid, a member of the party's presidium, delivered the letter to the speaker's office.

Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader speaks at a discussion marking Jonmashtomi at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Saturday.

The letter has been written on the party's pad and signed by Quader. The consent of 15 Jatiya Party MPs has been attached to it.

Jatiya Party is currently represented by 25 members of parliament, including the reserved seats for women. 

But the party's Rangpur-3 seat was vacated after the death of its chairman HM Ershad and is slated to be contested in a by-election on Oct 5.

The letter was handed to officials at the speaker's office as Shirin Sharmin is currently abroad.

Her secretary Kamal Billah confirmed receipt of the letter to bdnews24.com.

But Jatiya Party leaders, including Kazi Firoz, remained tight-lipped on the matter.

"I don't want to say anything about this issue," Jatiya Party MP Shamim Haider Patwary, also a party presidium member, told bdnews24.com.

Another Jatiya Party presidium member and MP Shariful Islam Jinnah said, "The party's secretary general and chief whip in parliament Moshiur Rahman Ranga will address the issue."

But Ranga did not take bdnews24.com's phone calls for comment.