Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia today expelled two top dissident leaders of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party soon after her arrest by the military-backed government on graft charges.
Party Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and Joint Secretary General Ashraf Hossain have been expelled, her lawyer told reporters.
“She (Zia) has nominated former parliamentary chief whip Khondokar Delwar Hossain as the acting secretary general,” he said.
Zia gave the order in the court complex before she was taken to a makeshift jail after her early morning arrest along with her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko, the lawyer said.
Bhuiyan was spearheading a campaign demanding that the “unlimited authority” of the party chairperson be clipped which was seen as an effort to end Zia’s hold over the party.
Zia had earlier warned of “appropriate steps against betrayers”.
No immediate reaction was available from Bhuiyan.