Apparently shifting blame to the opposition for not reaching a consensus on participatory polls, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali yesterday said BNP and its alliance partners never negotiated in ‘good faith’ for taking part in the elections, rather they were always insisting on ‘certain pre-conditions’, reports UNB. “Though the opposition was agitating in the name of democracy, they had never engaged in any serious preparation for elections at the ground level, and thus was not ready to participate in the upcoming elections,” he told the European Union (EU) diplomats in Dhaka while briefing them on the current political situation.
Ambassadors, High Commissioner and CDAs (Charge d’ Affairs) of the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Denmark attended at the briefing.
Adviser to the Prime Minister for International Affairs Dr Gowher Rizvi and Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque were present.
On the events that took place on Sunday, the Foreign Minister pointed out the contradiction that the Leader of the Opposition was flying the national flag on her vehicle that she was using for her ‘March for Democracy’, while she termed the current government and the existing constitutional dispensation as illegal.
-With UNB/The Independent input
