Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader was heckled by the audience at a view exchange meeting with Chhatra League leaders and left the venue post haste on Wednesday.
The former Chhatra League leaders expressed their anger as they were not heard after calling them to the view exchange meeting in the city. the meeting concluded soon after Obaidul Quader delivered a statement to the press.
The former Chhatra League leaders, who attended the meeting, claimed that they had always come to the aid of the party when it faced difficulties, but Quader called them to exchange views and spoke to the press without any consultation with the former leaders which shows his arrogance.
The discussion meeting on the current political situation was set to begin at the Awami League's central office at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka at 11:00am on Wednesday. Quader, also Road Transport and Bridges Minister, joined the meeting after 11:00am and started speaking to the journalists.
Though the meetings involving various Awami League organisations do not always allow different representatives to speak, the party's General Secretary also was the lone speaker on the day.
Instead of discussion with the Chhatra League leaders, he started talking with media. This led to a commotion among the former Chhatra League leaders.
At one point they asked - 'why are you the only one speaking? We have a lot to say too.'
Protesting the decision of briefing media, a Chhatra League leader asked him, "You have invited us to exchange views. But, without discussion, you have started briefing the media. Why you did so? Discuss first, then brief."
In this situation, some former leaders began chanting 'Bhua' 'Bhua'' (Fake! Fake!). At one point, the General Secretary of the party left the event without completing the press conference.
At first, the former Chhatra League leaders also expressed their anger at the journalists in attendance. Later, the journalists boycotted the conference.
During the conference, several former student leaders left annoyed.
A former general secretary of the central Chhatra League said, "They called us for an exchange of views. So you should first listen to us, let us talk. But instead of that, he called us for a discussion and began talking to the media. This is not right."
There was an initial commotion when Awami League Presidium Member Dr Abdur Razzaque came to the event. The student leaders asked why he was attending, complaining that his son was writing anti-government posts on social media.
Soon after leaving the meeting, Quader left the central office.
"What is this, brother?" said former Chhatra League Vice President Aminul Islam Bulbul. "We have things we want to say. We did not come to watch his press conference. We came because we wanted to talk about the situation in Dhaka and elsewhere."
Bulbul expressed his anger.
"Chhatra League leaders are always working on the ground. Student leaders take risks. They [children of Awami League leaders] study abroad. Their children are not in the Chhatra League. Abdur Razzaque Sir's son posts statuses on Facebook that Chhatra League are like locusts. We do not accept him as a leader. Their children should stay in the country and be part of the Chhatra League. How is it right that we should continue to work while they make homes, buy cars, and send their children abroad for studies? It is because of this that our party's situation is worsening over time."
In his speech, Quader urged the former Chhatra League leaders and activists to resist arson terrorists unitedly forgetting all differences of opinions.
"Destructive activities of arson terrorism have begun again. We should fight against them together. We should forget all differences and fight unitedly against the violent activities. We should resist the evil efforts and the anti-liberation forces. Hands of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will have to be strengthened. The Prime Minister is only the sentinel of our existence," he added.
The AL General Secretary said they (BNP-Jamaat) could not attack the Padma Bridge as the people resisted them. But they carried out violent activities in different major establishments including Metro Rail, Setu Bhaban, elevated expressway, and BTV Bhaban.
He said, "Ziaur Rahman was a fake camouflaged freedom fighter. We have to know these people."
"Duties of all former BCL leaders will be distributed and it will be evaluated later," Quader added.
AL presidium members Dr Abdur Razzaque, Dr Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, organizing secretary BM Mozammel Haque, Afzal Hossain and Sujit Roy Nandi and environment affairs secretary Delowar Hossain, among others, were present.
