The controversial lawmaker of the ruling Awami League, Golam Maula Rony, made a U-turn on his decision to resign as an MP, two-and-a-half hours after announcing it on Facebook on Tuesday. “I’m ready to resign at this moment if Parliament felt embarrassed because of my misdeed. I will talk to the Prime Minister in this regard,” Rony told the media after a meeting with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury at her office in Parliament. In the wake of severe criticism for assaulting on two Independent TV journalists, he posted a status message on his Facebook page which hinted at resignation: “Probably I’m going to resign.” He said he felt that he should “face the conspiracy” as a member of the “general public”.
Rony’s status message further read that he would prove what actually happened that day. “I’ll invite media personalities to make a level playing field for me and my opponent.”
“I have decided to resign. I will submit my resignation to the Speaker in the afternoon,” he told reporters before meeting the Speaker. However, after the meeting with the speaker he said he had not resigned.
Replying to a question about his backtracking on resignation, he said, “I can’t resign without discussing the issue with my local voters. They loved me and sent me to Parliament through their valuable votes.”
Describing his meeting with the Speaker, he said, “I met with the Speaker to know about my protection as a lawmaker. I also wanted to know from the Speaker what I should do at this juncture.”
“I will talk to my senior party leaders. I will resign if my party so desires. I’m mentally prepared for it,” Rony further said.
On Saturday, ruling party lawmaker Golam Mowla Rony and his associates beat up two journalists of private satellite TV channel Independent TV when the scribes had gone to his office on the ninth floor of Meherba Plaza at Topkhana Road in Dhaka.
Incidentally, a case was filed with Shahbagh police station against 20 people, including prime accused lawmaker Golam Mowla Rony, on the charge of attempted murder of two journalists. Younus Ali, assistant manager of Independent TV, filed the case.
Apart from damaging the journalists’ camera and its memory card, the lawmaker’s men then locked up the journalists inside his shipping business office, Saybold Group, located on the ninth floor of Meherba Plaza, at Topkhana Road in the city.
The victims, who were working for an investigative programme titled ‘Talash’, said that the lawmaker from Patuakhali had attacked them first and that his associates joined him later around 1:30pm.
Golam Maula Rony has a record of harassing and attacking journalists. In 2009, he allegedly threatened two journalists of vernacular dailies after they had published reports about his alleged land-grabbing activities. Following this, cases were filed against these two journalists.
Again, in September 2009, four journalists, who had gone to Rony’s constituency at Galachipa under Patuakhali to cover the incident of land-grabbing, were allegedly attacked by Rony’s supporters.
-With The Independent input
