The Awami League said on Monday that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was not sincere in holding talks on formation of an election-time government.
Addressing a rally, senior Awami League leader Amir Hossain Amu said BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia does not understand her demand for a non-party caretaker administration, for which her party was resorting to a “reign of terror” across the country.
At the same time, he said the BNP has been carrying out such activities only to save war criminals. “The BNP’s movement has no other objective but to save war criminals,” he said.
The rally was organised by the Dhaka City Jubo League at Bangabandhu Avenue in the city in protest against the BNP’s 60-hour countrywide hartal.
Addressing the rally, foreign minister Dipu Moni said the main Opposition party is not sincere to sit across the table with the ruling party for a dialogue to end the political standoff. She said the BNP does not want to resolve the political impasse through talks, and that’s why it is carrying out destructive activities across the country. If it really wants talks, it should come to the path of compromise instead of enforcing hartal.
State minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs Qamrul Islam alleged that the Opposition had chosen the path of confrontation instead of compromise. As it had chosen this path, the government would have to adopt a hard line to tackle the situation.
He also alleged that opposition men were resorting to vandalism in the name of enforcing hartal to destabilise the country as per the prescription of the Pakistani agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
At a separate anti-hartal rally in the city, Awami League joint general secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif urged the opposition to sit down with the government for a dialogue to end the political impasse.
Hanif said the main Opposition was hatching a conspiracy to destabilise the country in a bid to help a third force. But they will not succeed as the Awami League government would hold a free, fair and credible election as per the Constitution.
The Awami League leader asked the opposition to make it clear whether it enforced the 60-hour hartal as part of an international conspiracy to make the country a failed state.
At a press conference, Awami League presidium member Mohammad Nasim thanked the people for rejecting the 60-hour hartal. He alleged that the BNP chairperson was causing the death of innocent people by enforcing hartal, turning down the Prime Minister’s invitation for dinner.
Nasim, also the former home minister, called upon the opposition to return to the path of compromise instead of killing people. He urged the Election Commission to announce the schedule for the 10th parliamentary poll and make preparations to hold the election in line with constitutional provisions. “The EC should announce the poll schedule as early as possible,” he told the press conference at Sheikh Hasina’s Dhanmondi political office in the city.
Calling upon the Opposition to sit for talks, shunning hartal, Nasim said: “On the one hand, the BNP is calling hartal and on the other, they are speaking about holding dialogue. Two cannot go together.”
-With The Independent input
