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Saturday, September 13, 2008

Khaleda to lead BNP 'for life'

Khaleda Zia will lead BNP for life, party policymakers decided Saturday at a standing committee meeting, just two days after her release from jail.
Chowdhury Tanvir Ahmed Siddiqui placed the proposal on Khaleda's lifetime leadership, secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain told reporters after the meeting.
Khaleda called the 'urgent' meeting of the party's top policymaking body, beginning at 4.30pm, to discuss a schedule and agenda for BNP's planned dialogue with the government among other urgent issues stemming from her release, a party official had earlier told bdnews24.com.
Delwar said Khaleda's meeting with four advisers and her conversation with chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed by phone on Friday were high on the meeting agenda.
The meeting also okayed the appointment of Delwar as secretary general of the party and approved his decisions during Khaleda's detention, he told reporters after the meeting.
On dialogue with the government, Delwar said: "Date and time have not been fixed yet. We will fix them after talks with four-party alliance leaders. We will then inform the government about it." He said Saturday's meeting declared the last standing committee meeting on Oct 29—held amid intra-party factionalism at M Saifur Rahman's Gulshan home while Khaleda was still behind bars—illegal and its decisions ineffective.
According to the party constitution, only the chairperson can convene a standing committee meeting, the committee members said.
They also demanded general elections ahead of upazila polls and expressed concern at the high prices and rising unemployment.
The number of standing committee members totals 11, including Khaleda, Saifur, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Abdul Matin Chowdhury, Delwar, AR Goni, Siddiqui, Moudud Ahmed, Khandaker Mahbubuddin Ahmad, Mahbubur Rahman and M Shamsul Islam.
Khandaker Mosharraf and Moudud are currently behind bars.

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