Awami League presidium member Mohammad Nasim on Friday called upon the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to return to Parliament for talks on ending the political impasse. “Dialogue can be held on election-time government and it will certainly be held in Parliament. But no talks will be held outside the House,” Nasim told a meeting organised by the Awami Sechhchasebak League on Bangabandhu Avenue. The meeting commemorated the 32nd anniversary of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s homecoming.
“If you (Khaleda Zia) want to join Parliament, you are
welcome. But please do not return to the House only for retaining your membership,” the AL leader said.
Nasim, a former home minister, alleged that the PM was facing a threat to her life because of a conspiracy hatched by the Opposition. He described the BNP as a “party of betrayers” and said: “No talks can be held outside Parliament as the BNP cannot be trusted.”
The AL leader called upon the BNP chief to shun destructive activities and conspiracies for the sake of the country and its people. “There is no use hatching plots as our countrymen know the real conspirators. So, strike a compromise by returning to the path of democracy,” he said.
Nasim also criticised Khaleda for not responding to the PM’s offer for talks. “If you are adamant on restoring the caretaker government system, you may leave the country,” he added. The AL leader iterated his party’s claim that law enforcers had acted competently and not used lethal arms while resisting Hefazat leaders and workers in the city on May 6.
At a separate meeting here, state minister for local government and rural development and cooperatives, Jahangir Kabir Nanok, said no dialogue on the political crisis would be held outside Parliament. “Talks will not be held on Bangabandhu Avenue or at Paltan. It can only be held in Parliament. We cannot go beyond the country’s Constitution,” he said. He also called upon the Opposition to rejoin Parliament for the upcoming budget session and discuss core issues to end the political stalemate.
-With The Independent input