Gono Odhikar Parishad: Rift between Reza Kibria, Nurul Haque Nur
Gono Odhikar Parishad is on the brink of splitting due to the rift between two of the party’s top leaders – Reza Kibria and Nurul Haque Nur.
The party has appointed its joint convener Rashed Khan as convener dropping Reza Kibria from the post.
The decision was taken in a meeting of the party’s central leaders on Monday night.
Chaos has been brewing in the party for long due to complaints and counter complaints of the two top leaders of Gono Odhikar Parishad. They locked into open rivalry at different times too.
Recently, the party’s convener Reza Kibria and member secretary Nurul Haque issued statements against each other, raising different allegations. They posted the allegations on social media as well.
The other top leaders of the Gono Odhikar Parishad held a meeting at the residence of Reza Kibria in Dhaka as the situation within the party has worsened.
But no resolution could be reached that day as the tension spiked because of allegations and counter allegations by the two sides, said sources from the party.
The sources also said during the meeting on Sunday Reza Kibria brought allegations against Nurul Haque, saying he maintained communications with the embassy of a neighbouring country and of holding a meeting with Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel.
Reza Kibria also raised questions on the transparency of the party’s funds.
On the other hand, Nurul Haque brought allegations against Reza Kibria of regularly attending programmes of Isaf Kayem Committee, led by Farhad Mazhar and Shawkat Mahmud. He was getting money for that too, Nurul Haque alleged.
It was also alleged that Reza Kibria was not giving time to the party’s programmes.
In Sunday's meeting, no solution was found to the ongoing dispute. The following day, Reza Kibria traveled abroad, leaving the matter unresolved.
Yesterday, in the absence of Reza Kibria, the leaders of Gono Odhikar Parishad held another meeting, with Nurul Haque presiding. During this meeting, Rashed Khan was appointed as the acting convener of the party in Reza Kibria's absence. Additionally, it was decided to organise a party council within a short period of time.
Rashed Khan confirmed these decisions to Prothom Alo. However, there are concerns among party members about the possibility of resolving the dispute between the two leaders. Many within the party have expressed doubt about reaching a resolution.