AL �stronger� than ever before
Abu Jakir
The ruling Bangladesh Awami League is set to observe its 66th founding anniversary today amid a general belief among the party leaders that the party is today stronger and more organised than ever before.
Though they admit that party sometimes has failed to comply with its constitution, they believe that in the coming days they would address the issue.
However, talking to The Independent, a number of party leaders underscored the need to bring some young leaders, who are engaging in corruption and other criminal activities and tarnishing the party image, to the book.
Talking to The Independent, AL advisory council member Prof. Dr Abdul Khaleq said since its inception the AL has experienced split several times, but now under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, the party is totally unified and is stronger than ever before. He said the party is now established on a strong footing due to the excellent leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been leading the 66 year-old party for the last 35 years.
When contacted, AL advisory council member, Prof. AK Azad Chowdhury, said the party is running fine under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina. But if the young leadership is brought under its control, it would be better for the party. Even after that, I would say the chain of command of the AL is fine. And it has being possible because of Sheikh Hasinas smart leadership, he said. However, the AL is not following its constitution in many aspects. The partys constitution has provisions about committees and their role in ensuring internal democratic practices, but most of these have become ineffective over the last six to seven years.
The national committee has not held a meeting since October 13, 2012, though a meeting is mandatory every six months, as per Section 17 of the party charter. In violation of Section 25, the general secretary has not held any monthly meeting with departmental secretaries after the controversial January 5 national elections. The party is also supposed to hold meetings of all its 19 sub-committees every three months, but most of these are yet to be formed, even though the 19th triennial council was held on December 29, 2012.
The party, which was founded on June 23, 1949, was led by Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy and Maulana Abdur Rashid Torkobagish, till Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected party chief in 1966. Among them, Sheikh Mujib led the AL until 1975, the longest period of time. AHM Quamaruzzaman was elected party president for a short period of time in 1974.
The AL was dissolved in early 1975 as the then Bangabandhu-led government established a single partyBAKSALin the country by amending the Constitution. After Bangabandhus assassination on August 15, 1975, the AL was revived during the martial law regime in 1977. In the council held in 1978, Abdul Malek Ukil and Abdur Razzaq were elected party president and general secretary respectively. After the council, factional fights within the party escalated. Before the partys next council in 1981, the factional fights reached an even more acrimonious level. In such a situation, the party elected Hasina, who was then abroad, as its chief in an effort to minimise internal conflicts. Hasina returned to the country on May 17, 1981, and started engaging herself in party activities. She has been leading the AL since then.
They said there are many differences between Bangabandhus AL and her daughter Sheikh Hasinas AL. The present organisational condition of Awami League is better than at any other time in the past. To mark the 66th birth anniversary of the party, the AL will hold a discussion meeting at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC), with the Prime Minister in the chair.
