Chowdhury goes back to old job after quitting presidency

Quitting the presidency in the face of ruling party's threat to impeach him, AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury has returned to his old profession - treating patients.

A renowned physician, Chowdhury is now attending his medical chamber in Dhaka and treating patients there.

He said he would retire from politics in which he had been for the last two decades. He would spend the rest of his life, seeing patients and volunteering social services.

The 71-year-old physician-turned-politician, one of the architects of the party now in power said, "We've done a lot for the young people (in his Bangladesh Nationalist Party). Let them take over now. It's time for me to retire."

He had been a deputy prime minister, foreign minister, education minister and deputy leader in the parliament in his long political career.

People from his hometown Munshiganj, relations and well-wishers continued visiting the ousted president at his house and medical chamber, both at Baridhara posh area in the capital. But, his colleagues in the ruling party have stayed away.

The former president intends to travel to a few countries and see patients there free of cost.

When asked to comment on his forced resignation, Chowdhury yesterday quoted his well-wishers as saying that it would harm the ruling party and the democratic process in the country, not him personally. A long-drawn-out battle with the government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia led to the ouster of Chowdhury from the office of president.

Chowdhury's skipping of a visit to the grave of the late president, Ziaur Rahman, was the latest factor that heightened tension with the BNP.

Within a month of Chowdhury assuming the presidency last November 14, he was blamed for violating the norms as he visited the prime minister's residence a few days after taking over. The opposition alleged that he was biased. The next day, he visited a senior Awami League leader, Abdus Samad Azad. This time the BNP felt that the president was trying to prove his 'neutrality' as president.

Earlier this year, Chowdhury's son, Mahi B. Chowdhury, himself a BNP Member of Parliament, accorded a grand welcome to Awami League President, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, in his Munshiganj constituency. This was also viewed negatively by BNP leaders.

The disgruntled BNP leaders also noted that in his official communications, Chowdhury did not end with ''Bangladesh Zindabad'' - symbolising one's allegiance to the BNP.

The former president "angered" the prime minister as he refused to approve her recommendation to appoint Dr Aftab Ahmed as chairman of the Public Service Commission. Later, the prime minister chose Dr Zinnatunnesa Tahmida Begum for the post, which he assented to. This incident strained the relationship between the prime minister and the president.

Chowdhury also ran into controversy over television coverage. A few months ago, BNP leaders felt that he was getting too much coverage by the state-run BTV.

Accordingly, the Prime Minister's Office asked BTV to reduce coverage of him. Angered by this move, Chowdhury decided to curtail his own coverage further, limiting it only to events at Bangabhaban, the presidential house.