Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, the new chairman of ruling Awami League’s youth front Jubo League, has been selected for the post for the next three years mainly for his clean image of honesty and determination to the party.
Parash is the eldest son of Jubo League’s founder Chairman Sheikh Fazlul Huq Moni, who was also assassinated on August 15 in 1975 when the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his other family members were assassinated by a group of derailed army men. His younger brother Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh is an elected lawmaker while their uncle Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, a former chairman of the Jubo League, is a presidium member of Awami League.
He succeeds another relative Omar Faruk Chowdhury, who is the husband of Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim’s sister, as chairman of the organisation.
Family sources said, Parash had to witness the killing of his father Fazlul Huq Moni, a nephew of Bangabandhu, and mother at their Dhanmondi house while he was a minor child. After the killing of his parents, Parash had been in a trauma situation for years.
Despite being a member of a political family, he was not seen in politics directly. He has become active in politics with the inspiration of his aunt Sheikh Hasina, sources said.
According to party sources, being elected as the Jubo League chairman, Parash is making his first foray into politics with the task of repairing the image of Jubo League, which has been marred by controversies in recent times.
Parash passed the secondary school certificate (SSC) from Dhanmondi Government Boys’ School and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) from the Dhaka College. He completed his graduate degree in English from Dhaka University. He also achieved a PHD degree from Colorado University in the USA and was a teacher at different universities in the country.
Parash was made Jubo League chairman unopposed during the 7th national congress held at the capital’s Suhrawardi Udyan on Saturday. Mainul Hosain Khan Nikhil, incumbent president of Dhaka City north unit of Jubo League, has been made the general secretary of the organisation.
Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader, also the Minister for Road Transport and Bridges, announced the names of the new leaderships.
Earlier, Chayan Islam, convener of the Jubo League congress preparatory committee, proposed the name while its incumbent secretary Harun-Or-Rashid supported it amid huge clapping from the participants.
A total of seven aspirants were contesting for the general secretary post of the Jubo League. Of them, Nikhil, incumbent president of Dhaka City north unit of the youth wing, was picked as general secretary.
Earlier in the morning, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the president of Awami League, inaugurated the council and also was present there.
Immediate past Chairman of Jubo League, Omar Faruq Chowdhury was ousted from his post amid the government's crackdown on illegal casino business in which a number of influential Jubo League leaders were implicated.
The Jubo League held its seventh congress amid a drastic change in its leadership and keeping a large number of top ranking leaders sidelined due to their involvement with various types of irregularities and crimes like casino businesses, tender manipulation and corruption.
