Leaders loyal to Chittagong city Awami League president yesterday sought intervention of AL chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to solve the factional feud in the unit.

Influenced by the evil forces of war criminals, rivals of the unit President ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury is tainting image of the party, they said.

They also demanded investigation into the antiparty activities of the rival faction while speaking at a press conference at

Chittagong Press Club (CPC) yesterday. The unit General Secretary Kazi Inamul Hoque Danu read out the written statement.

On Saturday, leaders loyal to the unit Joint General Sectary and Primary and Mass Education Minister Afsarul Ameen and Vice President and lawmaker Nurul Islam BSC at a meeting demanded exclusion of the unit President Mohiuddin and GS Danu from the city committee.

Afsarul loyal faction organised the meeting after Mohiuddin-led faction at a meeting of the city committee on January 23 issued show cause notices to four of its top leaders including Afsarul asking them why the four should not be expelled from the committee.

Pointing to the exclusion of the two top leaders, Danu said the rival faction did it violating the party constitution, as they have no right to do so.

Veteran AL leader Ishak Mia sought intervention of Sheikh Hasina to solve the crisis in Chittagong AL. He said those who are now against the unit President Mohiuddin have forgotten his contribution to the party in Chittagong.

Unit President ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, Vice Presidents Advocate Sunil Sarkar and Belayet Hossain, Organising Secretary Badiul Alam, and AL leader AJM Nasiruddin were present at the conference among others.

Contacted, AL lawmaker Nurul Islam BSC, one of the rival leaders of Mohiuddin, said the city committee is itself an illegal one, as it expired and it has no right to issue show cause notice to them.