Hacked  By  r4dBlack

DHAKA: The main opposition BNP has extended the deadline for completing the councils of its district units to November 30 as it could not achieve the goal within yesterday's last date because of tremendous intra-party conflicts.

The national council of BNP is slated for December 8.

Internal conflicts have so much infected the BNP that district-level councils have ended up in clashes in many areas.

Party men engaged in clashes yesterday in Narayanganj and Khagrachhari while Magura and Narsingdi BNP saw two councils each that formed four separate district committees.

The councils in Khulna and Sylhet districts were, however, held in a peaceful manner.

Rangpur, Thakurgaon and Rajshahi units of BNP also held their councils yesterday.

Briefing newsmen at the party's Naya Paltan office yesterday, BNP's Office Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi expressed hope that they will be able to complete the district-level councils by November 30.

Rizvi claimed that obstructions from the ruling party and the administration were the reasons behind BNP's failure to complete the district-level councils in time.

According to our correspondents, yesterday's clashes in Narayanganj and Khagrachhari erupted centring establishing supremacy by the factions of the party.

In Narayanganj, at least 20 leaders and workers were injured as two factions clashed with each other on the street in front of the council venue.

The groups chased each other and vandalised the gateways erected for the party council.

Taimur Alam Khandaker was elected the president and Kazi Maniruzzaman the general secretary of the Narayanganj unit of BNP.

During the Khagrachhari council at Alutia, at least six leaders and activists of BNP and its front organisations were injured in clashes between two factions led by Samiran Dewan and Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan.

The council of Sylhet district BNP, which could not be held just two days ago because of an apprehension of clashes among the existing groups, was held yesterday peacefully.

A rival faction brought out a procession near the Humayun Rashid Chowdhury square, but police barred it from advancing towards the conference venue at about 2km distance. The demonstrators put up blockades on the road there but later police cleared it.

Former lawmaker M Ilyas Ali was elected the district unit president in Sylhet, advocate Abdul Gaffar the general secretary and Ali Ahmed its organising secretary.

Party leaders Tariqul Islam and Nazrul Islam Khan were present at the Khulna unit's council chaired by Nazrul Islam Manju.

Chilmari upazila administration in Kurigram yesterday imposed section 144 around a BNP council venue from 9:00am to 6:00pm as two factions of the party were going to organise their councils there at the same time.

Earlier, councils of Faridpur, Chittagong, Bhola, Chhatak, Sunamganj, Cox's Bazar, Habiganj and Comilla could not be held because of internal conflicts.

The BNP could not even announce new committees in a number of districts including Chittagong and Faridpur.

Party leaders alleged that they could not hold councils in Satkhira and Lalmonirhat as the administration had imposed section 144 on the council venues.