Tarique orders BNP revamp

BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has ordered a fresh reshuffle of party committees at all levels, directing leaders to prioritise popular, dedicated activists with a clean image, as he moves to strengthen internal discipline and rebuild grassroots organisations, senior party officials, including organising secretaries, told the Daily Sun.
He gave the directive to senior leaders, stressing that committees must be more representative, disciplined and responsive to the people amid the growing politics of mudslinging, they said. 
Those with a clean image, acceptance among local people and commitment to the party should get preference in forming and restructuring committees, a senior leader said.
The BNP has 11 major affiliate and associate organisations representing different demographic groups and professional sectors. Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), the student wing; Jubo Dal, the youth wing; and Swechchhasebak Dal, the volunteer organisation, are considered key wings. They mobilise students and young activists, expand the party’s grassroots presence and support its organisational activities.
The others are Mohila Dal (women’s wing), Muktijoddha Dal (freedom fighters and liberation war veterans), Samajik Sangskritik Sangstha (JASAS, the cultural wing), Sramik Dal (workers), Krishak Dal (farmers), Tanti Dal (weavers and artisans), Matsyajeebi Dal (fishermen) and Olama Dal (religious scholars and professionals associated with Islamic religious affairs).
The BNP has 82 organisational districts, including 64 administrative districts, with city and district unit offices in the divisional towns, while big districts are divided into south and north units.
The terms of 10 central committees, all except Jubo Dal’s, have expired, and they are operating beyond their tenures. The BNP has begun a phased process to dissolve and reform outdated regional and organisational committees and bring a new generation of leaders into the organisational structure.
On 30 September, Tarique Rahman dissolved the 51-member Dhaka North BNP convening committee, along with the North Jubo Dal and West Chhatra Dal committees. 
The official press release gave no reason, but the move came amid allegations linking local leaders and activists to a 25 September incident in the area. 
Local BNP leaders were reportedly implicated in an attack, looting and vandalism at the Radda MCH-FP Centre, a maternal and child healthcare facility in Mirpur-1.
The party also expelled 14 leaders across different tiers for breaches of party discipline, immoral activities and anti-organisational conduct.
Following a directive from the party’s top leadership, Ferdousi Ahmed Misty, a BNP lawmaker elected to a reserved seat for women, resigned from Parliament on 1 October.
BNP Vice Chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu told the Daily Sun that honest and dedicated leaders who faced repression and oppression, and served time in prison in connection with false and politically motivated cases during the previous “fascist government”, will be brought to the front line of party leadership in the days ahead.
A standing committee member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the BNP came to state power after a long period and is currently focusing on national issues, which has delayed the internal reshuffle aimed at promoting capable, young, energetic and honest leadership. 
A section of people are allegedly using the names of the party’s front and associate bodies to engage in misconduct and unethical activities across the country, taking advantage of outdated committees, he said.
Tarique Rahman has recently asked the respective leaders to restructure all front, associate and professional bodies with young, capable, committed and dedicated leaders to uphold the party’s political image and earn people’s confidence, they added.
“Not only the prime minister, but also we all have become embarrassed due to the recent activities of the party’s over-enthusiastic and derailed activists,” BNP Joint Secretary General Syed Emran Saleh Prince said.
Central committees of all front, associate and professional organisations are usually formed under the supervision of the party chairman, he added.
Emran said the party has faced organisational constraints after spending 15 years fighting what it described as authoritarian rule, but has not remained idle, taking action whenever allegations arise against its leaders and activists. He cited the recent attack on the Radda clinic in Mirpur as an example.
Tarique Rahman is committed to protecting people’s lives and property, and has urged BNP leaders to put the party’s organisational interests above personal or factional considerations and work collectively to strengthen the party at every level, Emran added.