Abdul Jalil was not allowed to be back as Awami League (AL) general secretary due mainly to his fierce criticism of party President Sheikh Hasina in the mercy petition to the caretaker government in July last year, AL sources said.
He was pushed aside and Syed Ashraful Islam was asked to continue as acting general secretary on instructions from Hasina, they added.
In a dramatic turn of events Thursday, Jalil announced he was taking up responsibilities as the general secretary again. He made the announcement after placing wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Bangabandhu Bhaban in Dhanmondi.
But hours afterwards, the AL high command said Syed Ashraf will keep filling in for Jalil.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior leader told The Daily Star, "Hasina couldn't put out of her mind what he wrote in his petition and that too at a time when the organisation was in a critical state."
Jalil's petition to Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed was scathing about the AL chief. He said she runs the party like a dictator. No-one dares to go against her dictates.
The former commerce minister also observed that “Hasina doesn't bother to pay heed to others and it oftentimes proves disastrous for the party”.
Asked if Hasina had insisted on Ashraf's carrying on as the acting general secretary, AL acting president Zillur Rahman yesterday said, “The decision has been taken through discussions among us."
Jalil returned home on August 31 after a six months' stay in Singapore for treatment. After the High Court granted him a 40-day ad interim bail Wednesday, he said he would be back to his position.
Sources said Jalil made the move after an influential presidium member had suggested that he stake his claim as the AL general secretary, or else he might lose the position.
"He should not have followed the suggestion that I think was an ill-advice. It was indeed foolhardy for him to ignore the party chief's request to take rest," another senior AL leader said, seeking anonymity.
Meanwhile, AL insiders said the party will hold a presidium meeting within a couple of days. After the meeting, it would come up with a formal announcement about the issue.
If its efforts succeed, Jalil might announce at a news briefing that he is not assuming charge as general secretary for health reasons, and that Ashraf would continue to stand in for him.
Speaking to journalists at his Gulshan residence yesterday morning, Zillur Rahman said, "A decision whether Jalil will be reinstated as general secretary will be made after the leader [Hasina] returns home."
He said, “We are happy he has returned among us. It's only on technical grounds that he has yet to be given back the role as general secretary."
Asked about Jalil's statement that as per the AL constitution he is the general secretary, the acting AL chief said, "He spoke about the constitution without fully understanding it."
Queried what he meant by 'technical grounds', Zillur said, "Jalil had resigned his position as general secretary under special circumstances. The matter has not been resolved yet, and he won't be given the charge until there's a resolution."
Later, asked about Zillur's statement, Jalil said, “I won't say anything in this regard."
Similarly, most of the senior leaders refrained from making any comments.
Jalil in his petition to the government in wrote, "For my grave health condition and looking at the faces of my family and the dear little sons, I have decided to retire from politics if necessary. I humbly request you [the government] not to extend my detention and release me on humanitarian grounds."
Asked if the party might be affected adversely for the latest developments regarding Jalil and Ashraf, Zillur said, "We have not left Jalil. He is still with us."
CITY AL PRESS CONFERENCE
Dhaka city AL at a press conference at the party headquarters on Bangabandhu Avenue yesterday demanded immediate withdrawal of all "false" charges against Hasina and other leaders who have been either detained or on the run.
The government has no right to keep anyone detained after release of Tarique Rahman, observed city AL acting general secretary Quamrul Islam
Reading out a statement, he also demanded lifting of the state of emergency and announcement of parliamentary polls schedule.
He said they would launch a strong movement if the government attempts to hold upazila polls before the national election.