BNP-nominated Cumilla-4 candidate Manjurul Ahsan remains loan defaulter as HC order stayed

The Appellate Division's chamber judge court today (8 January) halted a High Court (HC) order that earlier stayed the inclusion of BNP-nominated candidate for Cumilla-4 constituency (Debidwar upazila), Manjurul Ahsan Munshi, from the list of Bangladesh Bank's loan defaulters, for eight weeks, restricting him to contest the general election scheduled for 12 February. 

National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Coordinator (South), Hasnat Abdullah, is contesting for the seat.

Lawyers said he will not be eligible to contest the upcoming national election following the order. Manjurul is the managing director of a company named MAM Power Ltd and his name was included in the list of defaulters for failing to repay loans taken from Premier Bank and IDLC Finance Ltd.

Meanwhile, Manjurul Ahsan Munshi has claimed that his nomination has not been cancelled.

In a video message issued around 8pm, he said the way the issue is being reported in the news media is not accurate.

"There is no problem with nomination. So there is no reason to be confused about this. InshaAllah, everything is proceeding normally and correctly," he said.

During the video, he connected his lawyer over the phone, who provided an explanation on the matter.

The lawyer said Munshi has no personal loan default.

"The issue arose regarding his company. For this reason, the chamber court suspended the earlier stay order. We will file an appeal on Sunday," the lawyer said, adding that the suspension of the stay order does not mean that Munshi's candidacy has been cancelled.

Cumilla Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer Reza Hasan said the matter would be resolved through an appeal. "I am not willing to comment on this issue," he said.

Following hearings on separate petitions filed by both lending organisations seeking a stay on the HC order, Chamber Judge Justice Md Rezaul Haque passed the order. Lawyer Bibhuti Tarfder represented Premier Bank during the hearing.

Earlier, on 8 December, the HC stayed for three months the inclusion, circulation and publication of the names of MAM Power Ltd and candidate Manjurul as defaulters or wilful defaulters in the CIB report. 

The HC also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to respond within four weeks, while the central bank sent a copy of the stay order to the Election Commission.

After scrutiny of nomination papers on 2 January 2, the returning officer and Cumilla Deputy Commissioner Md Reza Hasan declared his nomination valid, prompting NCP candidate Hasnat Abdullah to question the transparency of the process. 

In his affidavit, Munshi mentioned that his name on the loan defaulters list had been stayed by an HC order.