JP MPs throw weight behind Ershad

HM Ershad yesterday sought an appointment with Sheikh Hasina to discuss his plan to quit as the PM's special envoy and also the issue of resignation of three JP ministers, party sources said.

At a parliamentary party meeting last night, almost all the JP lawmakers supported Ershad's move about party leaders' stepping down as ministers.

In another development yesterday, the JP chairman turned down Raushan Ershad's call to reconsider his decision bringing changes in party posts.

“There's no scope to change my decision,” Ershad said in a letter sent to Raushan yesterday.

In her statement on Saturday, Raushan, also a presidium member of the JP, termed “undemocratic” Ershad's decision to make GM Quader the party's co-chairman.

On January 17, Ershad suddenly made the announcement, though there is no such post in the party charter.

However, the development means that GM Quader, Ershad's brother, is the second-in-command in the party.

Aggrieved by the announcement, a group of leaders led by JP Secretary General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu the next day named Raushan as the party's acting chairperson and described Quader's appointment as undemocratic.

In a counter move, Ershad on Tuesday removed Bablu from the post of general secretary and appointed JP Presidium Member Ruhul Amin Hawlader to the post.

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, GM Quader said he requested Ershad to talk with the PM to discuss the resignation plan.

“The chairman has accepted my proposal and has already taken an initiative to talk with the prime minister,” Quader said, adding, “Leader of the opposition Begum Ershad will also accompany the party chief as they both expressed the same view on quitting the cabinet.”

However, three JP leaders, who opposed Ershad's decision, disagreed.

Opposition Chief Whip Tajul Islam Chowdhury said Quader's comment on the “understanding” on resigning from the council of ministers was his personal. “We don't support this.” 

JP MP Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu echoed Tajul's comment while State Minister for LGRD Moshiur Rahman Ranga said it was “totally false” that Raushan agreed about party minister's resignation.

The party, which has 40 MPs, is divided on the issue. JP MPs who were elected unopposed as well as the three ministers do not want to quit so soon.

But the GM Quader-led group has managed to convince Ershad and Raushan that the party will gain politically if JP lawmakers resign now. They also pointed out that the party managed to secure only one of the 234 mayor posts in the December 30 municipal polls, a sign of the party's waning popularity, according to sources.

Meanwhile, Quader yesterday requested Ershad to hold a presidium meeting for party leaders' opinion about his new party post. “I won't remain in the post if majority of the leaders don't want me.”

JPPP MEETING

All the party lawmakers except Ershad and Hawlader were present at the Jatiya Party Parliamentary Party meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

Of the 38 present, 33 MPs spoke in favour of quitting the cabinet, meeting sources said.

The three JP ministers and Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu opposed it while Raushan did not express any view, added the sources. 

Some 25 MPs spoke on the party's latest developments. Several of them asked Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud and two state ministers -- Mujibur Haque Chunnu and Ranga -- how the party was benefitting from their holding the posts.

“You [three ministers] are saying that you should continue as ministers because the government might harass the party leaders if you quit. But if the party chief discusses the issue with the prime minister beforehand, there will be no problem for the party,” a JP MP was quoted by a source as telling the meeting.

“No party leaders and activists got any benefit from you in the last two years of the present government. You always give the excuse that you have no power. Why we will remain in the cabinet and earn a bad name for our dual role in parliament?” another MP said. 

Raushan Ershad, who presided over the meeting, concluded that Ershad should hold a presidium meeting and decide on the matters, said Fakhrul Islam, a JP lawmaker who attended at the meeting.