Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad has remained non-functional since 2017 when bureaucrats were given charges of all of its offices, including the headquarters.
Freedom fighters have alleged that now they have to grease those bureaucrats and the ruling Awami League leaders for any help, which they were used to get from the Muktijoddha Sangsad.
All of the upazila and district offices of Muktijoddha Sangsad have remained locked for two years and hardly any freedom fighters go to its headquarters at the New Eskaton in Dhaka.
Freedom fighters said that the upazila unit offices had been remaining locked since 2017 as the liberation war affairs ministry appointed a joint secretary as the administrator of the sangsad and also asked upazila nirbabi officers to run the upazila unit offices.
They said that the government officials ran the activities of the sangsad from their own offices and did not entertain freedom fighters who approached them with demands.
They said that they did not get expected services from the bureaucrats what they used to get when the sangsad was functional under the leadership elected by freedom fighters from amongst themselves.
‘UNO operate activities from his own offices and do not entertain our basic problems or demands,’ said Abdul Gafur, a freedom fighter from Gaforgaon in Mymensingh.
‘When the upazila unit offices were functional under elected committees, we used to gather there regularly and get help from elected commanders,’ he added.
Like Gafur, destitute freedom fighters such as Habibur Rahman from Faridpur, Shyamapada Roy from Maksudpur of Gopalganj and M Sekandar Ali from Rajapur of Jhalakati said that they needed to grease government officials and local AL leaders for treatment, financial problems or other benefits.
It is a daily affair at the liberation war affairs ministry that many freedom fighters gather over there for their demands.
Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad was formed in 1972 as a non-government organisation with the mandate to work for the welfare of the freedom fighters and to spread the spirit of the Liberation War to the masses.
For collecting its operational costs, the government allowed gambling at Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra.
In addition, the government allocated 4 per cent of the lease money collected from the bazaars and weekly markets across the country to the account of the sangsad.
After the inception of Jatiya Muktijoddha Council, under Jatiya Muktijoddha Council Act 2000, Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad started operating as a registered organisation with the council for the welfare of the freedom fighters.
When the council was formed the successive governments in different ways tried to control the activities of the elected committees of the Muktijoddha Sangsad by the bureaucrats, two former chairmen of the sangsad alleged.
‘Muktijoddha Sangsad is now one of the about 300 organisations registered with Muktijoddha Council. And the ministry seems to have no interest in handing over power to the elected committees,’ former Muktijoddha Sangsad chairman Ahad Chowdhury said.
‘The ministry rather wants to operate sangsad through bureaucrats ministry,’ he said.
Immediate past chairman of the sangsad retired major general Helal Morshed Khan (Bir Bikram) said, ‘The ministry illegally took control of the sangsad appointing the administrator aiming to be sole leader of the freedom fighters,’
He said, ‘The administrator was appointed violating the constitution of the sangsad and no initiative was taken for holding election to the sangsad to hand over power to the elected leaderships.’
He said that he filed a writ petition in October, 2017 challenging the legality of operating the sangsad by administrator, not approving the amended constitution of the sangsad by the council and not updating election schedule and electoral roll.
‘The petition is still pending with the High Court,’ he said, adding that instead of holding election, the ministry rather stopped giving the share of lease money of bazaars to the sangsad.
Muktijoddha Sangsad officials said they were not getting money from Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra.
Official records show that the ministry issued two circulars on September 14, 2017 for operating activities of the Muktijoddha Sangsad appointing an administrator as the tenure of the latest elected central command council expired in June 2017.
Jatiya Muktijoddha Council members, however, said they decided to operate activities of the sangsad appointing an administrator as the immediate past committee wanted to continue bringing several amendments to the constitution of the sangsad a few months before the expiry of the tenure.
Helal Morshed said he had no intention to continue for indefinite time rather he requested prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the adviser and chief patron of the sangsad, to form election commission three months before the expiry of their tenure in June 2017.
A five-member election commission headed by cabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam was formed by the prime minister Sheikh Hasina on August 6, 2017.
Asked about announcement of the election schedule, Shafiul Alam texted, ‘The matter is lying with liberation war affairs ministry.’
Liberation war affairs minister AKM Mozammel Haque said that the election would be held after the Eid-ul-Fitr.
‘The updated list of the voters will be announced soon,’ the minister said.
He also said that he decided in June 2018 to distribute share of lease money of bazaars directly among the upazila health complexes for free treatments and medicine for freedom fighters.
He said that he took such decision after getting allegations that the fund had earlier been misused by the leaders of the sangsad.
The minister said the administrator could say about lease money of gambling.
Administrator M Zahirul Islam Rohel said the problem with the contractor for operating the gambling was solved.
Both Helal and Ahad refuted such allegation of misuse of the fund.