Sylhet BNP explains boycott of President’s civic reception

Sylhet BNP Sets Out Reasons for Skipping Presidential Reception

Thebangladaily.com – Sylhet metropolitan BNP has said its decision to stay away from a civic reception for President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was a protest against the way the event was arranged by Sylhet City Corporation.

In a joint statement issued on Tuesday evening, metropolitan BNP President Nasim Hossain and General Secretary Emdad Hossain Chowdhury said the party objected to what they viewed as unilateral decisions by the organisers. They said BNP representatives were not properly included in planning the reception or in the process of sending invitations.

The two leaders stressed that the boycott applied only to the civic reception. BNP leaders and activists remained involved in other parts of the President’s visit to Sylhet, including welcoming him at the airport, joining visits to the shrines of Hazrat Shahjalal and Hazrat Shah Paran, and greeting him at different locations in the city.

Dispute over reception arrangements

The reception was organised by Sylhet City Corporation during the President’s visit. Nasim Hossain and Emdad Hossain Chowdhury said residents of Sylhet were pleased to receive the President and that the metropolitan BNP had participated in efforts to welcome him throughout the visit.

However, they said the civic programme became contentious because Sylhet City Corporation Administrator Abdul Kaiyum Chowdhury allegedly handled the arrangements without sufficient consultation. Their statement said meetings involving Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury and the Sylhet district administration had discussed forming a civic committee through consensus.

BNP’s metropolitan leaders said that proposed process was not followed. They alleged that party leaders were bypassed while the reception was being prepared and invitations were issued, leaving them unable to take part in what they believed should have been a broadly representative civic event.

“The metropolitan BNP leaders and affiliated organisations stayed away from the civic reception to uphold party discipline and express their protest.”

The statement presented the absence from the programme as an organisational decision rather than a rejection of the President’s visit. By making that distinction, the leaders sought to underline their participation in other official and public engagements during the day.

Meeting at Circuit House

Later on Tuesday evening, BNP and metropolitan BNP representatives met President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at the Circuit House. During the meeting, they explained the circumstances that led to the boycott and raised their concerns about the city corporation administrator’s role in arranging the reception.

The delegation included BNP Chairperson’s Adviser Dr Mohammad Enamul Haque Chowdhury; BNP Executive Committee Joint Organising Secretary and Sylhet WASA Chairman Miftah Siddiqui; BNP Executive Committee member and Sylhet District Council Administrator Abul Kaher Chowdhury Shamim; Nasim Hossain; Emdad Hossain Chowdhury; and former metropolitan BNP general secretary and Jalalabad Gas director Badruzzaman Selim.

The meeting gave the Sylhet BNP leadership an opportunity to place its position directly before the President after avoiding the civic event. The party leaders said their concern centred on the management of the reception, particularly the absence of the consensus-based committee structure discussed earlier.

Why the issue matters locally

Civic receptions are generally intended to bring together public representatives, political figures, community members and local institutions during the visit of a major national figure. The dispute in Sylhet highlighted the importance local political leaders place on participation, consultation and representation in such programmes.

For metropolitan BNP, the issue was not simply attendance at a ceremonial gathering. Its leaders framed the matter as one involving party discipline and respect for a process that they said had been discussed in meetings with government and district administration representatives.

The statement also made clear that BNP did not withdraw from the wider schedule surrounding the presidential visit. Its leaders and activists welcomed the President at the airport, participated in visits to the two revered shrines, and later met him at the Circuit House. Those activities formed the basis of the party’s argument that it remained engaged with the visit while objecting to one specific event.

Hazrat Shahjalal and Hazrat Shah Paran are among Sylhet’s most significant religious sites, and visits to their shrines are a prominent part of many high-profile visits to the region. BNP’s participation in those programmes reinforced its effort to separate its protest over the reception from the broader public welcome for the President.

Abdul Kaiyum Chowdhury did not comment when approached about the allegations raised by the metropolitan BNP leadership.

The episode leaves a clear difference of view between the city corporation administrator and BNP’s local leadership over how the reception was organised. While the programme proceeded, Sylhet metropolitan BNP has maintained that an inclusive civic committee and proper consultation could have prevented the disagreement.