Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that she will not make any fresh phone call to the Leader of the Opposition, Khaleda Zia, to initiate a dialogue to end the political impasse. She, however, said that her invitation to the Opposition Leader still remains valid.
“There is no need for setting any fresh date. My invitation is still valid. She (Begum Zia) can come anytime declaring that she would not call hartal,” Hasina told a group of top business leaders on Thursday.
Leaders of trade bodies, led by the president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed, called on the Prime Minister as part of their initiative to bring both the government and Opposition parties to the talks table.
Responding to the business leaders’ plea to take the initiative again, Hasina said she had already phoned Khaleda Zia and requested her to withdraw the strikes which she denied. “I was insulted once by calling her. Now who will take the responsibility if you cannot make her agree to hold talks,” the PM told them, apparently expressing her unwillingness to call her again. .
When the business leaders sought a specific date from the Prime Minister for a meeting with the Leader of the Opposition, the Prime Minister said: “There is no need for fixing a date. My door is always open.”
Sources said the Prime Minister seemed a little reluctant regarding secretary general-level dialogue to break the deadlock. Responding to the business leaders’ request to resume talks at least between the general secretaries of the two parties, Sheikh Hasina said: “Our general secretary is always ready and has the authority to take any decision. But who will take the decision as their secretary general is still ‘acting’?”
Former presidents of the FBCCI Abdul Awal Mintoo, Yusuf Abdullah Harun, Mir Nasir Hossain, Anisul Haque, AK Azad, president of the BGMEA Atiqul Islam, president of the BTMEA Jahangir Alam, presidents of different trade bodies from different districts and directors of the FBCCI were present.
The Prime Minister had invited Khaleda Zia to Ganobhaban for talks over dinner when they spoke over the phone on October 26. The 37-minute conversation was marred by recriminations and inspired little hope, prompting the business bodies to step in.
The business leaders met Khaleda on November 2 and proposed talks between the secretary-generals of the two parties without any strings attached. Though the BNP chairperson insisted on not budging from her demand of a non-party neutral caretaker dispensation to supervise the parliamentary elections, she agreed to the proposal for unconditional talks.
“We have taken the initiative in the interest of the whole nation. We want a free, fair and an inclusive election and the peace to be restored,” Kazi Akramuddin had said.
After Khaleda agreed to the proposal, the business leaders sought an appointment with the Prime Minister to take their initiative forward.
The Awami League opposes the BNP’s proposal and wants polls to be conducted by an all-party interim Cabinet. At a press conference last month, the FBCCI president had urged the two alliances to reach an agreement, saying the businessmen did not want to see the rise of a “third force” to exploit the vacuum.
Businessmen in Bangladesh are deeply worried with what happened during the last military-backed caretaker regime and want a political consensus to resolve the crisis.
-With The Independent input
