Jatiya Party have announced they will stay away from Parliament till the speaker recognises GM Quader as the leader of the opposition instead of Raushan Ershad. The decision was taken in a meeting of the party’s parliamentary party on Sunday after a discussion with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury where she offered no hint of a positive decision in this regard coming soon, said Khandakar Delwar Jalali, JP press secretary. Jatiya Party’s parliamentary party has decided GM Quader will be head of their parliamentary delegation  and informed the matter to the speaker in writing, he said. Read more: JP seeks to remove ailing Raushan as leader of opposition in Parliament Currently, Raushan Ershad is the opposition leader who has been abroad for a long time for medical treatment with GM Quader as her deputy. Earlier on September 3, the parliamentary party proposed to make GM Quader the opposition leader of the parliament instead of Raushan but the speaker is yet to take a decision in this regard. The 20th session of the current parliament that began Sunday will continue till November 6. Read more: PM’s gesture to Raushan in JS, enquires about her health

The third  anniversary of the death of former president and Jatiya Party founder Hussain Muhammad Ershad was observed on Thursday. Jatiya Party  took up elaborate programmes to mark the anniversary with due respect. As part of the programmes, Jatiya Party flag was kept at half-mast atop all the offices of the party across the country. Qurankhawani, milad mahfil and discussion meetings were arranged at the party offices across the country, including Kakrail central office, seeking eternal peace for Ershad’s departed soul. The leaders and activists of the party and its different associate bodies placed wreaths on the portrait of Ershad in the morning on the premises of party headquarters at Kakrail. Besides, the party leaders and activists distributed food among the destitutes marking the day. Read: Raushon Ershad flies to Bangkok again for follow-up treatment Jatiya party will also arrange a public rally at Shampur-Jurain Railgate in the capital on Friday afternoon.  At the end of the programme, food will be distributed among 3,000 disadvantaged people. Meanwhile, Jatiya Party leaders and activists offered  fateha at the grave of Ershad in Rangpur on Thursday morning.  A doa-mahfil-cum discussion meeting was also held there. Ershad Trust organised a memorial meeting at President Park in Baridhara in the capital.  Gen. Ershad, who was ousted in 1990 after his nine years of autocratic rule, died on July 14, 2019 at the age of 89 while undergoing treatment at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka. Amid political turmoil after the assassination of Ziaur Rahman in a military coup, Ershad took over the state power from then-President Abdus Sattar on March 24, 1982, as the Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA). He formed 'Jatiya Party' in 1986 and was elected president of the country for a term of five years the same year through the third parliamentary election, triggering huge protests  by other political parties. Amid a fierce combined movement by the opposition parties, he was finally forced to step down on 6 December 1990.

The Jatiya Party (JPA), the main opposition party in the Jatiya Sangsad, does not want the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in parliamentary elections. The party expressed their stand in their statement on Sunday taking part in a meeting of the Election Commission (EC) on EVM verification. After the meeting, Japa secretary general Mujibul Haque Chunnu told reporters that a meeting of their presidium members on Sunday morning had decided that they will support the existing system of electoral process and they see no need to use EVM. Chunnu said, "We have also presented this opinion to the EC in the meeting." Also read: EC to sit with political parties in three phases regarding EVM Asked whether he would boycott the polls if EVMs were used despite their views, he said "We will take the decision then." The Election Commission has called 39 political parties for continuous discussions to verify the EVM. On Sunday, the EC invited 13 parties. The remaining 26 parties will join in two phases on June 21 and June 28 for EVM verification. In the first phase, the 13 political parties that were invited to the dialogue with the EC today are Jatiya Party (Ershad), the main opposition in the National Parliament, Jatiya Party-JP, Krishak Sramik Janata League, Bangladesh National Awami Party, Bangladesh Jatiya Party-BJP, Jaker Party, Bangladesh Muslim League, Gano Forum, Gano Front, Bangladeshh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Jasad, Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal-Basad, Bangladesh National Awami Party-Bangladesh NAP, Biplabi Workers Party of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Sanskritik Muktijote. In the second phase set for June 21, the invited political parties are Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal JSD, Bangladesh Khilafat Movement, National People's Party-NPP, Jamiyat-e-Ulamaye Islam, Bangladesh, Islamic Front Bangladesh, Bangladesh Kalyan Party, Islami Oikya Jote, Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, Islamic Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Islamic Front, Khilafat Majlis and Bangladesh Muslim League-BML. Also read: Election using EVMs won’t be acceptable: Jatiya Party In the last phase, the 13 parties invited on June 28 are ruling Bangladesh Awami League, Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, Communist Party of Bangladesh-ML, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Liberal Democratic Party-LDP, Ganatantri Party, Workers Party of Bangladesh, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Jasad, Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal-Basad, Bangladesh National Awami Party-Bangladesh NAP, Biplabi Workers Party of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Sanskritik Muktijote. Opinions about EVMs have already been taken in meetings with the best technologists in the country. They said after seeing the EVM, this machine is reliable. The Election Commission wants to use EVM on a large scale in the upcoming 12th National Assembly elections. However, the company has decided to take everyone's opinion before that. The EC currently has 1 lakh 54 thousand EVMs, with which voting can be done in maximum 100 seats while three hundred more machines are needed to use this voting machine in 300 seats.

Jatiya Party Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu on Thursday threatened to wage a street movement if the government fails to control the price hike of daily essentials and check corruption and extortion. “Jatiya Party won’t leave the streets if commodity prices are not controlled, and corruption, money laundering, tender manipulation, politicisation and extortion are not stopped,” he said. Speaking at a human-chain programme, the Jatiya Party leader also said only those who are with the ruling party now doing well as they are becoming richer through tender manipulation, extortion and partisanism. “But most people in the country are getting poorer day by day. They’ve no earning source, but their expenditure has increased several times,” he observed.| Chunnu said people are seriously struggling to make ends meet due to the unbridled rise in the prices of essential commodities.

Describing the new Election Commission EC as an Awami League-backed Commission of bureaucrats, Jatiya Party on Sunday voiced doubt whether it will be able to hold neutral and credible polls. “The newly appointed Election Commission is an Awami League-supported bureaucrat-dependent one,” said Jatiya Party Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu. Talking to reporters after a meeting of Jatiya Party presidium members at the Banani office of its Chairman, he also said the activities of the new EC will exhibit how impartial they are. Also read: Next EC not to make any difference, says BNP Earlier on Saturday, President Abdul Hamid appointed former defence secretary Kazi Habibul Awal as the new Chief Election Commissioner. Based on the search committee’s recommendations, he also appointed Brigadier General Ahsan Habib Khan (retd), former district and sessional judge Begum Rashida Sultana, former senior secretaries Mohammad Alamgir and Anisur Rahman as the four other commissioners of the new EC. The tenure of the immediate past EC, led by KM Nurul Huda, expired on February 14. Replying to a question, Chunnu said both BNP and Awami League could not hold neutral elections. He recalled that their party’s late Chairman HM Ershad had earlier proposed the introduction of proportional representation in elections. “There’s no alternative to the proportional representation system for free, fair and neutral elections.” This is a concept meaning that the number of parliamentary seats won by a party is proportional to the number of votes it received. Also read: People want a change in politics: GM Quader “It’s possible to have a fair election only in a proportional representation system,” the Jatiya Party secretary general said. He, however, said political parties need to trust each other and cooperate with each other for holding the polls in a fair and acceptable manner. “Fair elections will never be possible in Bangladesh if the political parties don’t reach a consensus about the election system,” he observed. According to the current law on the Election Commission, Chunnu said the employees of the republic will work under the EC during the election period and they’re bound to listen to its orders. “But nothing has been said about what will happen if they don't obey (the EC’s orders).” He said their party had a demand for enacting the law empowering the EC to take action against those who will defy its orders during the election period. “The government didn’t enact that law. If a law is enacted empowering the Election Commission and the Commission shows goodwill, then fair elections will be possible. Or else, fair elections are difficult,” Chunnu opined. Responding to another question, he said Jatiya Party is an election-oriented party, and they will decide whether they should join the next general elections or not under the new EC before the polls.

Jatiya Party MP Mujibul Haque Chunnu on Saturday said people call them ‘Dalal’ (collaborators) as they overpraise the government.Chunnu, also secretary general of the main opposition in parliament, came up with the statement as Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader criticized the opposition MPs for not praising the government for its various successes and development activities in the road and transport sector.Earlier, participating in discussions on the Highway Bill-2021, several opposition MPs of both BNP and Jatiya Party came down heavily on the minister for recent fatal road accidents, anarchic situation and corruption in the transport sector.Responding to the criticisms, Obaidul Quader urged the opposition not only to oppose, but also to praise the good jobs of the government. Also read: People fed-up with AL, BNP: Chunnu

Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Monday alleged that the government has taken a stance against the interest of the common people by raising bus and launch fares instead of lowering fuel oil prices. In a statement, he said, “The government has increased the prices of diesel and kerosene irrationally. We had demanded a reduction in fuel oil prices. But the government raised the transport and launch fares,” he said. GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, said the decision to increase oil prices and transportation costs is an anti-people one. He demanded the government reduce the increased prices of diesel and kerosene and the increased fares of buses and launches. Also read: Fuel price hike ‘illogical’: GM Quader The Jatiya Party chairman said the government suddenly increased the prices of diesel and kerosene by Tk 15 per liter on the night of November 3. He bemoaned that the government has also increased bus fares by 27 percent and launch fares by 35 percent without reducing fuel prices in the face of a movement by transport owners, leaving people in unbearable sufferings. “With the rise in fuel oil prices, the cost of living and transportation is increasing fast,” the Jatiya Party chief said. He also said several crore people became unemployed during the Covid pandemic, and they are now living an inhuman life. “In such a reality, raising the fuel prices is an unacceptable decision. Neighbouring India has also slashed diesel and kerosene prices.” Also read: People facing “starving-like situation”: BNP GM Quader said it is now imperative to reduce the cost of fuel and public transport to normalise the cost of living. On Wednesday, the government raised the prices of diesel and kerosene at the retail level. The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) said the petroleum prices have been readjusted against the backdrop of the price hike of petroleum in the international market.

Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Saturday made party co-chairman Mujibul Haque Chunnu as its secretary general following the death of Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu. GM Quader took the decision as per section 20/1/A of the Jatiya Party constitution, his deputy press secretary Khandaker Deloar Jalali told UNB. On October 2, Jatiya Party secretary-general Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu passed away at a city hospital at the age of 67. On July 26, 2020, Bablu was appointed the party secretary general removing Moshiur Rahman Ranga from the post. Also read: GM Quader recalls Bablu’s contributions to JaPa According to a Jatiya Party press release, GM Quader appointed Chunnu as the party secretary general through an organisational order with effect from October 9, 2021. In his initial reaction, Chunnu said he will work hard to strengthen the party. “The party chairman has reposed trust in me. So, I’ll uphold his dignity through my work.” He said he will focus on enhancing the party’s organisational capacity to field Jatiya Party candidates in 300 seats and bring the party back to power. Party sources said GM Quader wanted to make young leader Shameem Haider Patwary the party secretary general, but the senior leaders strongly opposed it, forcing the party chairman to change his stance. Apart from Chunnu, former secretaries general Ruhul Amin Hawlader, Moshiur Rahman Ranga, Syaed Abul Hossain MP, presidium member Golam Moshi and additional secretary general Sahidur Rahman were interested to have the party post. Also read:  JaPa wants law for EC formation After discussions with some senior leaders, GM Quader finally picked Chunnu for the post. Chunnu, who joined Jatiya Party leaving a government job in the 80s, was elected MP five times from Kishoreganj-3 seat. He also served as State Minister for Labour and Employment in Prime Shekih Hasina’s previous cabinet formed after the 2014 election.  

Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Saturday said those who are conspiring to destroy communal harmony in Bangladesh will never succeed. “We’ve a tradition of communal harmony. We’re determined to maintain communal harmony, no matter what,” he said. GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, came up with the remarks at a views-exchange meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Hindu Parishad at Jatiya Party chairman’s Banani office. He said their party founder late HM Ershad had set an example in maintaining communal harmony during his rule. Also read: JaPa not to compromise on HR issues: GM Quader The Jatiya Party chief also said Ershad played a unique role in protecting the rights of people of all religions. He also recalled that Ershad had declared the day of Janmashtami, a major festival of the Hindu community marking the birth of Lord Sri Krishna, a public holiday. ”He also provided security and financial assistance for various pujas and festivals (of Hindu community).” GM Quader said the Hindu Welfare Trust, founded by Ershad, has now become an institution worth a hundred crore of taka. He also said the Jatiya Party founder always kept allocation for the construction and renovation of temples. During the meeting, the Bangladesh Hindu Parishad leader handed over the draft law on minority protection to the Jatiya Party chairman and greeted him with a bouquet. Jatiya Party presidium members ATU Taj Rahman, Advocate Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan and office secretary MA Razzak Khan, among others, were present at the meeting.

Professor Masuda M Rashid Chowdhury, a Jatiya Party presidium member and an MP from a reserved seat for women, died early Monday at a city hospital. She was 70. Masuda, also a former teacher of Dhaka University’s Sociology department, breathed her last around 3am while undergoing treatment at Birdem General Hospital, said a Jatiya Party press release. She had been suffering from various health complications, it said.Masuda left behind one son and a daughter and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn her demise. Also  read: JaPa not to compromise on HR issues: GM Quader  Her first namaz-e-janaza was held on the premises of her Moghbazar residence after Zohr prayers while the second janza in front of Jatiya Party’s Kakrail central office after Asr prayers today (Monday). The third janaza of the late female MP will be held at Chittagong city's Laldighi Maidan after Zohr prayers on Tuesday and her fourth and final janaza will be held at Gohira village in Raujan after Asar prayers. Later, she will be buried at her family graveyard in the same village. Meanwhile, Jatiya Party chairman GM Quader, Secretary General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu and Opposition Chief Whip Mashiur Rahman Ranga expressed deep shock at her death.In separate condolence messages, they prayed for the salvation of the departed soul and conveyed profound sympathy to the bereaved family members. Also read: Eric announces new JaPa committee making Raushon chairman