The ruling Awami League has convened an emergency meeting of its newly constituted secretariat at party president Sheikh Hasina's political office at Dhanmondi at 10 am on Saturday (October 17) to discuss ways of gearing up party activities at the grassroots level.

It will be the first meeting of the newly elected Awami League secretariat after its national council held in the city on July 24 in which Sheikh Hasina was reelected for the sixth time as party president and Syed Ashraful Islam as the new general secretary. Talking to this correspondent at party's Dhanmondi office yesterday, newly elected joint secretary of Awami League Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif indicated that organisational matters would come up for discussion at the emergency meeting of the 33-member Awami League secretariat.

He added that the seven new organising secretaries would be entrusted by the meeting with responsibilities for divisional units of the party. Besides, the Awami League leader said that there might be discussion on how to enhance coordination among the party and the government and project the people-oriented activities undertaken by the government over the past nine months. The tour programme of party's senior leaders across the country is also expected to be finalised at the meeting. The Awami League joint secretary added that the party would soon launch membership drive, including renewal of membership of the party, throughout the country, and that the schedule of the drive might also be finalised at the meeting.

When asked whether alleged extortions by the members of the associate bodies of Awami League in many places across the country, as reported in a section of the press, would come for discussion at the meeting, Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif said, "There may be discussion on the issue, if any member of the party secretariat raises the issue at the meeting." However, he was quick to add that other organisational matters would be given priority for discussion at the meeting. He didn't elaborate.

Sources in the party said that discussions on holding of the long-awaited councils of Awami League's district units, where new committees could not be elected through organising councils for various reasons over the past seven years, might also feature at the meeting. At the first meeting of the newly formed Awami League Central Working Committee (ALCWC), the highest policy making body of the ruling party, held at Dhanmondi on October 3 with Sheikh Hasina in the chair, resolution was adopted for distribution of responsibilities for divisional units among the seven newly elected organising secretaries of the party soon. Besides, resolutions also were taken then to launch the party's membership drive and tour programmes of central leaders across the country.

Party sources indicated that the emergency meeting of 33-member Awami League secretariat has been convened mainly for implementation of the resolutions adopted at the first meeting of the ALCWC. The resolutions were adopted at the ALCWC meeting as there was visibly no activities in many units of the party other than observing the party programmes on national days after the Awami League-led grand alliance government assumed office on January 6. At the Awami League's national council, decision also was taken to revamp the party at grassroots level by organising councils of the district and other units.

-The Independent