Ferdousy Ahmed Misty, a reserved-seat lawmaker, was on Thursday forced to resign over her alleged involvement in the attack, looting and vandalism at the Radda MCH-FP health service centre in Mirpur, Dhaka.
She submitted her resignation letter to Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed at the Jatiya Sangsad on the instructions of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. Earlier, on Wednesday night, she was warned by party high-ups to resign immediately or face consequences.
Her resignation, considered unprecedented, followed nationwide criticism over the rampage at the healthcare institution around midnight on 25 September, in which Misty and several local BNP leaders and activists were reportedly involved.
On Wednesday night, BNP dissolved its Dhaka North executive committee alongside the committees of its youth wing, Jubo Dal, and student wing, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, while expelling 14 key party leaders, also in connection with the Radda vandalism.
Misty’s resignation and the party’s internal actions, seven months after the formation of the BNP government, are being seen as a strong message to BNP leaders and activists allegedly involved in various crimes, including extortion, across the country.
According to sources in the ruling BNP, the government has taken a firm stance over the Radda incident. Before asking Misty to resign and dissolving the committees, the prime minister collected information about the incident over the previous two days, including who was involved in the vandalism, their political identities and who was behind it.
“Misty’s resignation proves that leaders of the ruling party were involved in vandalising the hospital,” Abdul Latif Masum, a retired professor of Government and Politics at Jahangirnagar University, told TIMES.
The political analyst, however, observed that the prime minister’s decision, although it came late, was commendable given the country’s political situation.
Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said the decision to accept the reserved-seat MP’s resignation and dissolve the committee was timely. He said it should mark the beginning of a comprehensive self-correction process for all political parties, rather than an ad hoc response.
“Lessons should be learned from recent incidents, and a modern, stringent ethical code must be formulated for all elected representatives,” he said.
A top leader of the dissolved Dhaka North city unit of BNP said that even though Misty had resigned, the party leadership could take more stringent action against her.
“A criminal case may be filed implicating her, leading to her arrest,” the leader told TIMES, requesting anonymity.
A series of violent incidents took place in Mirpur, ECB, Mohammadpur and Adabor within a span of 48 hours, drawing public outcry. Following the incidents, the government came under pressure to take action against those responsible.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed also acknowledged police failures and assured that strict action would be taken against those responsible.
