Wadud Bhuiyan

Wadud Bhuiyan
In office
25 February 1996 – 30 March 1996
In office
10 October 2001 – 29 October 2006
Personal details
Born (1965-01-05)5 January 1965
Khagrachari, Bangladesh
Nationality Bangladeshi
Political party Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Children 2
Occupation Politics
Website wadudbhuiyan.com

Wadud Bhuiyan (Bengali: ওয়াদুদ ভূইয়া; born 5 January 1965) is a Bangladeshi politician. He was the first and only Bengali politician to be elected an MP in a Chittagong Hill Tracts constituency of Bangladesh.[1] Mr. Bhuiyan was elected twice as the member of the Jatiyo Sangshad (Bangladesh Parliament) from Khagrachari constituency respectively in 6th and 8th National Parliamentary Elections.[2] In addition, he served as the first civilian chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board from 2002 to 2006. He currently holds the posts of assistant employment secretary of Central Executive Committee of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and president of its Khagrachari District unit of . Earlier, he was the general secretary of Khagrachari unit of the party.

Early life and education

He was born on 5 January 1965 at Ramgarh Upazila, Khagrachari District. His father's name is Saleh Ahmed Bhuiyan and mother's name is Biya Saleh. He has two daughters namely Bansharee Wadud and Apsharee Wadud. Mr. Bhuiyan obtained his B.S.S (Hons) degree on Sociology from Chittagong University in 1985. He acquired an M.S.S (Masters) degree on the same discipline from the university in 1986.

Political career

Student politics

Mr. Bhiyan was active in student politics at Chittagong University. He was the convener, which was equivalent to the post of president of the unit, of the Chittagong University unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of BNP, from 1987 to 1989. At the same time, he also served as the president of Ramgarh unit of the same wing from 1980 to 1990.

Public representation

In 1989, he was elected as the counselor of the Khagrachari Hill District Council with a majority of few thousands votes which has been a record ever since. He later resigned, along with another counselor, from the post, showing protest against the then-chairman Samiran Dewan's alleged corruption.[3] In 6th Jatiyo Sangshad election of 1996, he was nominated and elected as the candidate of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party from Khagrachari constituency. In 9th Jatiyo Sangshad election of 2001, he was again nominated as the candidate of the BNP and elected. He also participated in the 5th (1991) and 7th (1996) parliamentary elections as the sole candidate of BNP, however, was defeated by a comparatively close margin.[4] In 2001, he was appointed as a member of the parliamentary standing committee on Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, along with BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and 6 others.[5] He was also one of the members of a parliamentary standing committee on government institution affairs. In 2002, he was appointed as the first civilian and Bengali chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board, a government agency established in 1978 by Ziaur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and then-President of Bangladesh.[6]

Participation in Movement

He is one of the prominent national politicians (from Chittagong Hill Tracts) in the Bangladeshi political arena. Since 1991, in all parliamentary elections except 9th, he was nominated as the sole candidate of BNP from Khagrachari constituency. In 10th parliamentary election, he couldn't participate due to his imprisonment during military influenced then-caretaker government's period. He was also one of the most active student leaders from Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal in anti-Ershad movement.

He is known as the leader of the Bengali people, living in Chittagong Hill Tracts. He is also known for his position against the militant activities of Shanti Bahini, the rebellious military wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti. He opposed the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord that was signed between Bangladesh Government and Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti in 1997. Khaleda Zia, the then-opposition leader of Jatiyo Sangshad, led a huge long-march against the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, in which Wadud Bhuiyan was the main-organizer. He also presided over the rally that was held on the last day of the road-march. He founded Parbatya Chattagram Sama-Odhikar Andolon (Chittagong Hill Tracts Equal-Rights Movement), an organization to raise movement to ensure equal rights for all people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.[7]

Arrests

He was once arrested for his alleged involvement in a student movement against the martial law of then-President Hossain Mohammad Ershad. He was also arrested during caretaker government's period in 2007. A special court in Chittagong sentenced him to 20 years in jail.[8] Due to the immediate imprisonment, he couldn't participate in 9th parliamentary elections. However, this conviction order, along with another seven orders, was later stayed by the High Court.[9] The HC also granted bail to him.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Amena Mohsin (2003). The Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: On the Difficult Road to Peace. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
  2. ↑ "Members of Parliament : Profile".
  3. ↑ "1st Elected Members: Khagrachari Hill Districts Council".
  4. ↑ "Compare 1991, 1996, 2001 results - Amardesh".
  5. ↑ "Standing Committee on Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts".
  6. ↑ Amena Mohsin (2003). The Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: On the Difficult Road to Peace. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
  7. ↑ "Curfew clamped on Khagrachari town". Dhaka Mirror.
  8. ↑ "Ex-BNP MP Wadud Bhuiyan jailed for 20 years". bdnews24.com.
  9. ↑ "Conviction order of seven stayed by HC". The Daily Star.
  10. ↑ "HC grants bail to ex-BNP MP Wadud Bhuiyan for six months". The Daily Star.
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