Dhaka, Sept 24 (UNB) – Claiming that Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) has been carrying out its activities lawfully, BNP on Tuesday said court has no ‘jurisdiction’ to issue an injunction on the functioning of a political party.
Speaking at a press conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi also accused the government of ‘nakedly using’ court to destroy JCD.
“Whatever Chhatra Dal has done so far is lawful, and its councillors have elected their leadership through direct voting following the democratic process,” he said.
As per provisions of the law, the BNP leader said, political parties and their respective activities do not fall under the jurisdiction of court. “There’re some observations of the apex court in this regard.”
“According to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), 1972 and Political Parties Ordinance, 1978, BNP is a political party, and the lower court or an assistant judge’s court has no jurisdiction to issue any injunction on the activities of the party and or on any office bearer of it,” he added.
Rizvi also said the court never engaged in or interfered with the activities of a political party in the country in the past.
On Monday, a Dhaka court issued an ad-interim injunction on the functioning of JCD’s newly-elected executive committee for the next seven days following an application by a former leader of BNP’s student body Md Aman Ullah Aman.
Fazlur Rahman Khokon and Iqbal Hossain Shamol were elected president and general secretary of JCD respectively at its council on September 19.
Voicing resentment over the court’s injunction, Rizvi said it cannot be an issue of the court to interfere in the formation of a committee of an organisation. “The culture of regulating politics through court will only invite dangerous consequences for the country.”
He said their party believes that the court will remain as the last resort for people to seek justice instead of being used as a weapon of the government.
The BNP leader said the court is silent though the president and general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League were removed illegally by violating the RPO. “Had the court been neutral and independent, it would have dissolved the full committee of Chhatra League and served the Awami league high command with a show-cause notice for violating the RPO.”
Rizvi said the court is only active against BNP and its leaders and activists, but it has no step against extortion by ruling party men, illegal operation of casinos, plundering of banks and share markets and siphoning off thousands of crores of taka abroad.
