RIVALRY BETWEEN TWO TOP AL LEADERS Conflicts leave Ctg into chaos

Infighting between ruling Awami League’s Chittagong city unit president ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, also former Chittagong city mayor for three consecutive terms, and general secretary AJM Nasir Uddin, also the incumbent mayor, has caused a chaotic situation in the port city.
Many city dwellers fear violent clashes anytime as the two leaders continue with mud-slinging and back-stabbing in public at rallies and meetings and to media causing embarrassment to party leaders even, said a number of Chittagong AL leaders, adding that prime minister Sheikh Hasina, also the party president, should immediately intervene to stop it.
The situation even worried eminent citizens of the port city and they expressed concern and fear that the situation might threaten security and law and order.
Eight eminent citizens in a statement on April 15 expressed concern and termed the situation unexpected.
They said that the reason behind such internal feud was the fact that Chittagong was not developed as much as it should have been.
One of the signatories to the statement, Sikandar Khan, said that the mud-slinging between Mohiuddin and Nasir was ‘very shameful’ and it was far from democracy, discipline and politics.
Young ward councillor Morshedul Alam said that the AL high command could stop the old rivalry.
‘If we the public representatives behave in such way, where the common people will go as we are here to serve the people,’ he said.
Criticising the two politicians, Chittagong University student Rahatil Manik said that mud-slinging and back-stabbing between them showed the poor condition of the politics and such behaviours were unexpected from them.
Many AL leaders said that the conflict between Mohiuddin and Nasir had a long history back in 80s when Nasir was a student leader loyal to former Chittagong (south district) AL president Akhtaruzzman Chowhdury Babu, also former AL presidium member, and Mohiuddin was the Chittagong city AL general secretary. The rivalry between Mohiuddin and Akhtaruzzman was well-known at that time. 
According to them, the old rivalry had engaged the two leaders in conflict over a number of issues, including construction of poll, management of Premier University, reassessment of holding tax and election to Bangladesh Medical Association.
At least 30 people, including five cops, were injured as activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the AL-backed student organisation, clashed with cops in Chittagong on April 18.
The clash erupted when Chhatra League activists, reportedly loyal to Mohiuddin, vandalised vehicles at Kazir Dewri and the fence of the construction site of under-construction swimming pool at outer stadium as the authorities paid no heed to their 24-hour ultimatum to stoop the construction.
Earlier on April 10, at a rally at Laldighi, Mohiuddin issued a 15-day ultimatum to stop the construction of the pool adjacent to MA Aziz Stadium. District Sports Council is constructing the poll and Nasir is its general secretary.
Chittagong city AL joint secretary Khurshed Alam Sujan, known as a follower of Mohiuddin, said, ‘We are not against the pool, but against the spot. This is a conspiracy to stop the “historical victory fair” (Bijay Mela), which has been being organised in every December for over two decades under the leadership of Mohiuddin, in the name of so called pool.’
The clash erupted only a day after Mohiuddin and Nasir addressed a rally marking the Mujibnagar Day at Chittagong Central Shaheed Minar on April 17, shook hands announcing that they were united and urged activists to unite.
Mohiuddin and Nasir engaged in a conflict over the trustee board of Premier University established by Chittagong City Corporation when Mohiuddin was the mayor. He was made the chairman of the university’s board of trustees.
Mohiuddin filed a writ petition in 2015 challenging a letter sent by the University Grants Commission on July 14, 2015 asking city mayor Nasir to fulfil some legal requirements of the university.
The High Court on June 28, 2016 declared the letter illegal and allowed Mohiuddin to act as the trustee board chairman. The verdict, however, said that the dispute over the ownership of the university should be resolved by a civil court.
Nasir said that Mohiuddin raised no question when the then city mayor M Manjur Alam who succeeded Mohiuddin as the mayor and trustee board chairman in 2010, but opposed him when he was supposed to be the trustee board chairman at the city mayor and the management of the university by the city corporation.
Mohiuddin said, ‘It is me who has established the world class university in Chittagong for the children of Chittagong but a vested group want to destroy it.’
In March 2016, the city corporation took five-yearly tax evaluation programme saying that building and house owners would need to pay 17 per cent of the house rent as holding tax. 
Nasir, whose election pledge was not to raise the taxes, said that it was a government decision and he was going by local government ministry directive.
Mohiuddin continued protesting at the reassessment of holding tax while Nasir said that he would have a policy of zero tolerance on the issue.
Ward councillor Chowdhury Hasan Mahmud Hasni, who had also served as ward councillor during Mohiuddin’s tenures, said that the tax reassessment was a routine work and they were yet to start implementing the programme.
Terming the mud-slinging of the two leaders frustrating, he expressed hope that the problem would be solved soon.
Local AL leader said that other organisations were also been affected by the infighting and as a result two panels from pro-AL doctors’ platform Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad took part in the election to the Chittagong chapter of Bangladesh Medical Association in December 2016.
Pro-AL doctors said that Nasir-backed panel led by Mujibul Haque Khan and Faysal Iqbal Chowdhury won the polls while Mohiuddin backed the other panel led by Nasir Uddin Mahmud and ANM Minhazur.
At a rally at Laldighi on April 10, Mohiuddin criticised Nasir over many issues, including the initiative to increase holding tax and relocate a wholesale fish market from Firingibazar to Razakhali. 
Mohiuddin even threatened to send a proposal to the prime minister from Chittagong city AL to have Nasir dismissed as mayor. Mohiuddin also alleged that Nasir killed at least 12 people at times. 
He also said that Nasir was not given the status of a minister or deputy minister as he was incompetent. 
The rally was organised by fish traders’ association Sonali Jantrik Matsya Shilpa Samobay Samiti protesting at the initiative to relocate the wholesale fish market and increase trade licence fees and holding tax.
Nasir is trying to evict the fish traders, alleged Mohiuddin, terming the move to hike holding tax and trade licence fee illogical. 
Nasir said that Mohiuddin was raising ‘baseless’ allegations against him out of frustration.
At a press conference at Premier University on April 11, Mohiuddin alleged that Nasir had no clear idea about how to do development work at lower cost.
‘But, he does not come to me for advice,’ Mohiuddin said, adding, ‘had he known how to take income-generating projects, he would not have increased tax,’
Nasir alleged that during Mohiuddin’s tenure, many ‘unplanned works’ including building markets over drains, were done, which were the main reason for waterlogging in the city. 
Nasir said, ‘What did Mohiuddin mean by alleging that I had bribed for the nomination for mayoral poll while the nomination was given by party president Sheikh Hasina?’
Dramatically, on April 17, Mohiuddin and Nasir shared the same stage and joined hands during a programme at Chittagong Central Shaheed Minar marking the Mujibnagar Day.
As a symbol of unity, they shook hands and urged the activists to be united. 
‘There may be competition for leadership in the party, but this does not mean that there is infighting between us .We are united and will work together for our party,’ said Mohiuddin at the rally.
He said that there was no rivalry between them but journalists made it an issue writing pages after pages. 

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