In response to reports published in Manabzamin and various other media regarding the commotion at the BNP worker gathering in Juri Upazila and the departure of central leaders from the event, Nasir Uddin Ahmed Mithu, a member of the BNP Moulvibazar District Convening Committee, held a press conference. He conducted this conference at his residence in Juri town at noon on Tuesday. However, multiple local and district leaders have clarified that Mithu’s statement does not represent the party’s stance and is entirely his personal opinion.

On December 15, a BNP worker gathering was organized by the Juri Upazila BNP. According to several district BNP leaders, central executive committee members GK Gaus, the organizational secretary, and M Naser Rahman, a member, were dissatisfied with the names on the banner. Although they arrived in Juri town, they did not attend the gathering. Meanwhile, commotion broke out multiple times between the supporters of Nasir Uddin Ahmed Mithu, a district convening committee member, and Shariful Haque Saju, the recently former advisor of the district BNP. Local journalists captured photos and videos of the incidents and reported them. On December 16, Manabzamin published a report titled *“Commotion at Juri BNP Worker Gathering, Gaus-Naser Rahman Depart.”

In protest of these reports, Mithu said, “The minor incidents that took place at the gathering were not significant enough to highlight. Our Madam’s advisor, Mirza Azam, was in Sylhet that afternoon for a meeting. Therefore, although the chief guest and a special guest were supposed to attend the Juri event, they were called to Sylhet after lunch, which is why they left.”* He claimed that some media outlets, including Manabzamin, reported the news in a distorted manner.

Others present at the press conference included former acting president of the Upazila BNP, Haji Masum Reza, and former general secretary, Habibur Rahman Askar.

In protest against holding such a press conference using the Juri Upazila BNP banner and criticizing the media, Haji Helal, the former senior vice-president of the Upazila BNP, said, “There is currently no existing Upazila committee, so using the Juri Upazila BNP banner to hold such a press conference was inappropriate.”

Regarding this matter, Moulvibazar District BNP convenor Faizul Karim Moyun told Manabzamin over the phone at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, “Since the Juri Upazila committee has been dissolved, it was inappropriate to hold a press conference under the Upazila BNP banner. This was his (Nasir Uddin Ahmed Mithu’s) personal press conference. He did this out of misunderstanding.”