Mizanur Rahman Minu

Mizanur Rahman Minu
মিজানুর রহমান মিনু
Portrait of Mizanur Rahman Minu
4th Mayor of Rajshahi
In office
11 March 1994 – 11 June 2007
Preceded byM Aminul Islam (as Administrator)
Succeeded byA. H. M. Khairuzzaman Liton
In office
21 May 1991 – 30 December 1993
Preceded byNA Habibullah (as Administrator)
Succeeded byM Aminul Islam (as Administrator)
Member of Parliament
In office
1 October 2001 – 29 October 2006
Preceded byKabir Hossain
Succeeded byFazle Hossain Badsha
ConstituencyRajshahi-2
Personal details
BornRajshahi, East Pakistan
NationalityBangladeshi
Political partyBangladesh Nationalist Party
OccupationPolitician

Mizanur Rahman Minu is a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician and the former mayor and member of parliament of Rajshahi-2.

Minu has served as the mayor of Rajshahi. He was elected president of the Rajshahi unit of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.[1] He is an advisor to former prime minister and chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Khaleda Zia.[2]

Career

Minu was elected to parliament from Rajshahi-2 as a Bangladesh Nationalist Party candidate in 2001.[3] He received 176,405 votes while his nearest rival, A. H. M. Khairuzzaman Liton of Awami League, received 96,604 votes.[3]

Minu was elected mayor of Rajshahi in 2002.[4] His opponent, Fazle Hossain Badsha, made allegations of vote rigging and an Awami League activist was killed in election violence.[4]

In November 2008, Bangladesh High Court squashed an extortion case against him in which he was sentenced to 17 years jail, thereby allowing him to compete in the upcoming parliamentary elections.[5] He contested the election from Rajshahi-2 against Fazle Hossain Badsha of the Awami League led grand alliance.[4]

In December 2013, Minu was sued for murder after a police constable died in a bomb attack during a strike of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.[6]

Minu was sent to jail in March 2014 in a case filed over the attempted murder of the officer-in-charge of Boalia model police station after he was shot at a hartal (strike) of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party on 4 June 2011.[7]

Minu was sent to jail in six arson cases in July 2015 and was released on bail in September.[8] He was admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital after his bail.[8]

Mosabbirul Islam, law affairs secretary of Rajshahi unit of the Awami League filed a sedition case against Minu on charges of threatening Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a rally of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party on 2 March 2021.[9] He later apologized for calling for a repeat of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of Sheikh Hasina.[10]

In July 2023, an employee of Ena Group, owned by Awami League member of parliament Enamul Haque, filed a case against Minu under the Digital Security Act after Minu accused Enamul of being a former president of Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir.[11] Judge AM Zulfiqar Hayat of the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal dismissed the case against Minu on the reasoning that the complaint did not have grounds to file a complaint as the comments were not made against him or his close family.[11] The Prothom Alo called for the verdict to become a precedent for other cases filed under Digital Security Act to harass people.[11]

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party sidelined Minu and Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul in favor of new leadership in Rajshahi.[12] He was removed from the Rajshahi District convening committee of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Minu elected Rajshahi city BNP chief". bdnews24.com. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. ^ "BNP postpones Rajshahi divisional rally". New Age. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Parliament Election Result of 1991, 1996, 2001 Bangladesh Election Information and Statistics". Vote Monitor Networks. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Ali, Anwar (21 December 2008). "All eyes on Badsha-Minu fight". The Daily Star. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  5. ^ Ali, Anwar (20 November 2008). "Minu's acquittal enlivens Rajshahi BNP". The Daily Star. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Minu, Bulbul among 350 sued". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Minu again sent to jail". Prothom Alo. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Rajshahi ex-mayor Minu released on bail". The Daily Star. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Four Rajshahi BNP leaders sued in sedation case". New Age. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  10. ^ "BNP leader Minu apologises for remarks on 'repeating 1975 assassination'". The Daily Star. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "Ex-RCC mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu sued under DSA". The Daily Star. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  12. ^ a b Azad, Abul Kalam Muhammad (22 September 2023). "AL has two factions in Rajshahi, 'new vs old' plagues BNP". Prothom Alo. Retrieved 25 July 2024.