Jatiya launches drive to raise funds

The Jatiya Party is launching a nationwide drive to try to raise funds to pay off the Taka 55 million fine required to get former Bangladesh president H.M. Ershad released from jail.

The party's Secretary General, Naziur Rahman Manjur, told Gulf News yesterday that 13 central leaders, including Raushan Ershad, Ershad's wife, and himself, would lead a team each, which will tour different districts.

Manjur said they had already obtained a commitment of Tk 15 million and were trying to raise the rest through a nation-wide drive.

Last Sunday, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court rejected a plea by Ershad's lawyers to allow the fine to be paid in instalments.

Meanwhile, with Ershad incarcerated in prison and with another leading member quitting, the fabric that held the combined opposition together appears to be fraying around the edges.

Political analysts say that the silence from the four-party combined opposition over the two weeks is ominous and could indicate that the coalition is on the verge of imploding. They point out that no statement has been issued, no demands made, no agitation scheduled on the issue of Ershad's imprisonment.

Instead, they say, it appears as if the BNP, a leading opposition partner, is split on the crucial question of whether they should claim Ershad or disown him in order to save their politics.