Ruling Awami League will invite diplomats in Dhaka and opposition BNP alongside other political parties to the party’s 22nd national council scheduled to be held on December 24 in the capital’s historic Suhrawardy Udyan.
Besides, due to the ongoing global economic crisis, the ruling party has also decided to maintain simplicity in the arrangement for the council. And that is why the party has decided not to use lighting and other decorations centring the council.
Moreover, the council will be held only for a day this year although most of the councils of the Awami League were held for two days. The last council was also held on 20-21 December, 2019 and the budget was Tk 34.3 million. The AL national committee has approved a budget of Tk 31.3 million for the impending council.
The sources also said that alongside all other political parties, including the allies of the 14-party alliance, various left leaning political parties will be invited to the council of the Awami League. BNP will also be invited. But Jamaat and other parties having links to anti-liberation forces and conspiracies would not be invited.
The party sources said no foreign guests except diplomats from different embassies or consulates in Dhaka will be invited this year.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the president of the Awami League, will preside over the council.
Centring the council, a sub-committee on reception affairs of the 22nd council, led by presidium member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, held several meetings. Member secretary of the sub-committee is education minister Dipu Moni, also the party’s joint general secretary. The party sources said around 15,000 councilors and representatives have been invited from across the country to attend the council. Besides, politicians, cabinet members, lawmakers, civil society members, professionals and foreign diplomats will also be invited. It planned to organise lunch for 50,000 people. Interested leaders and activists will also turn up at the council, the party policymakers assume.
While visiting the Suhrawardy Udyan earlier on Thursday, Awami League presidium member Jahangir Kabir Nanak said the party has decided to maintain simplicity in the arrangement for the party’s 22 council considering the ongoing economic crisis across the world.
Education minister Dipu Moni, who is the member secretary of the sub-committee for the council and also the party’s joint general secretary, said no foreign guests except the ambassadors will be invited at the council. All the political parties including the BNP will be invited.
She further said the distribution of invitation letters has already started and it will end by 22 December.
Awami League did not invite the foreign guests in its last national council either. In 2016, around 55 guests of 11 countries from India, China, the UK, Canada and Australia attended the AL council. Most of the envoys will be on leave due to Christmas. As a result, their participation will decrease, the AL leaders think.
The AL leaders said there will be no lighting and no large gates like in the previous times. The AL council will be held on the stage at Suhrawardy Udyan where the councils of the party’s associate bodies are held. The stage, however, will be in the shape of a boat, the electoral symbol of Awami League.
AL joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim said, “Considering the ongoing global economic crisis, party president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked to exclude all kinds of pomp and fanfare in the conference. So there will be no lighting.”
Awami League came into being at Rose Garden in Dhaka on 23 June, 1949. In its 21st council in 2019, Sheikh Hasina was reelected the president while Obaidul Quader the general secretary.
The party leaders have been discussing the general secretary post as they are sure that Sheikh Hasina will remain the party president.
Meanwhile, the Awami League on Monday held a preparatory meeting for the council. The meeting was held at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) auditorium in the capital where AL general secretary Obaidul Quader, also the minister for Road, Transport and Bridge, was in the chair.
At the meeting Obaidul Quader said even if the conference will be held in a simple manner, there will be no lack of the AL leaders and workers since there will be a surge of AL men at the conference.
Considering the suffering of the country's people, the conference would not be a well-decorated one, the AL general secretary said.
He said AL President Sheikh Hasina always thinks about the welfare of the country's people and keeping the people's suffering in mind, this conference is being kept simple.