BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has asked party leaders to devise an effective strategy to deal with possible obstacles from local administration to hold district unit councils. She also directed party leaders to resolve internal disputes quickly to hold the national council on December 8 after a long gap of 16 years.

Meanwhile, most BNP sub-committees have started functioning to make the national council successful. BNP high-ups fear that the administration may impose section 144 on the council venues or ruling party activists can create obstacles to holding council in various districts. A few BNP leaders claimed that they have already received information that ruling party leaders are making plans to foil BNP councils.

A number of BNP leaders met the party chairperson to discuss the issue at her Gulshan office on Wednesday night. "The chairperson discussed the matter with us after we received information that ruling party men with the help of local administration are planning to foil BNP council in some districts," Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, BNP joint secretary general, told The Daily Star yesterday. He said the party chief asked them to settle all internal disputes immediately to complete the party's reorganisation process at the field level by December 4.

Meantime, the sub-committee on foreign affairs led by Shafik Rehman threw a tea party for foreign diplomats and invited them to the party's national council. The committee also plans to invite international leaders and renowned personalities to its council. The sub-committee on constitution and declaration led by former minister Tariqul Islam at a meeting at the party office last night discussed placing of proposals for amending the party constitution.

The sub-committee on management headed by Mirza Abbas at a meeting on Wednesday made a few decisions on arrangement for the national council. The two sub-committees on publicity, and office and communications led by Goyeshwar and Rizvi Ahmed have sat twice to discuss issues related to the national council. BNP on October 22 formed 12 sub-committees as part of its preparation to hold a national council slated for December 8.

-Daily Star