Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has again been rumored to have fled to India illegally last Friday night. The police, however, conducted an unsuccessful raid at the residence of his wife Ishratunnessa’s elder brother Nurul Huda at Shanti Bagh in Halishahar, Chittagong, on Saturday midnight.
Meanwhile, many of the top leaders of Awami League believe that Obaidul Quader hastily ran away to avoid his responsibility and risk after announcing the party program on Sunday on the occasion of Shaheed Noor Hussain Day. He is not getting much benefit from it. Because even in India he has to stay hidden. Many have said that former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader is hiding in India to escape the wrath of Awami League leaders who are already hiding in the country. According to them, the angry leaders are looking for Obaidul Quader. A lot of unexpected things can happen when you meet him.
According to some reliable sources, Obaidul Quader went to India illegally through Sylhet or Mymensingh border on Friday night. He had to stay at the border area on Friday and Saturday as he was not allowed to leave the country by plane without a passport. Later, with special permission from the concerned authorities of India, he went to Kolkata on Sunday by an internal flight of India. His wife Ishratunnessa did not accompany him to India.
Before going to India, Obaidul Quader went to Jessore from Gulshan in the capital around the third week of August. There he stayed at the in-laws of an influential government official, a close relative of his, waiting to enter India at any moment. Earlier he was hiding in a house in Gulshan. Ishaq Ali Khan Panna, the former general secretary of the Chhatra League, was already hiding there. Later on August 24, Panna died at the Indian border.
Obaidul Quader became quite controversial towards the end of the fall of the government. In particular, he came under severe criticism for commenting that ‘Chatra League is enough to deal with the movement of students and the masses’. At that time, Obaidul Quader became cornered within the party and lost control of organizational activities. However, during his tenure in power, he used to speak in some event almost every day.
If there was no political or other event, the general secretary of Awami League would confirm his presence every day with a press conference or statement. But after making questionable comments related to BCL, he folded. After the fall of the government, Awami League lost its organizational position. As a result, an organizational statement is being made in the name of party presidium member Jahangir Kabir Nanak, joint general secretary Mahbubul-Alam Hanif and Afam Bahauddin Nashim.
There is no end to complaints against Obaidul Quader by many former ministers-MPs and party leaders. He probably wouldn’t answer anyone’s phone. As a result, his distance with the activists increased. Apart from the central leader, district and upazila level leaders used to face the misbehavior of the party’s general secretary while talking about organizational issues. Obaidul Quader’s declaration of ‘Khela Hobe’ to BNP was laughed at by common people as well as party leaders. Of course Obaidul Quader himself is now ‘missing’ by declaring ‘Khela Hobe’.
The former road transport and bridges minister, who used to wear expensive watches and coat-ties, was regularly trolled on social media. It still continues. Obaidul Quader, a leader who behaved differently from the party leaders, was widely criticized for uttering the word ‘Cow’ in an organizational meeting. He said on January 29 last year, ‘We were born in this country, we will die in this country, we will not run away. Where to escape! won’t run away If necessary, I will go to Mr. Fakhrul’s house.’ But now he is on the run. He also disappeared from his favorite social media, Facebook.
Source: samakal