Bangladesh News

Political parties have a greater role to play in making the ongoing dialogue a success since it was actually their proposal, two advisers of the caretaker government said yesterday.

“The political parties proposed the dialogue… it is the responsibility of all quarters, especially of the political parties, to make the dialogue a success for stability and advancement of the country,” Education Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman said.

He made the remarks when asked if the government was trying to communicate with the former prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia to make sure that Awami League (AL) and BNP, the two major political parties, attend the dialogue.

“We hope that the dialogue will be successful,” he told the reporters coming out of a meeting with a team from Chittagong University at the ministry.

“People from all walks of life have keen interest on the dialogue. We have to tackle the issue with patience,” Zillur Rahman said.

Meanwhile, Local Government and Rural Development Adviser Anwarul Iqbal expressed hope that the major political parties, which have decided not to participate in the dialogue, would reconsider their decisions.

“It was the political parties that wanted the dialogue. We hope they will attend it,” he said during a meeting with the local government representatives at the ministry. “We are not in opposition of the political parties.”

Anwarul Iqbal said the government will hold dialogue with grassroots level people, including farmers, workers and trade unions at divisional, district and even at upazila levels to better understand their demands.

Education Adviser Hossain Zillur also told the reporters that the government is now focusing on upgrading the standard of higher education.

“Until now, we have concentrated more on the primary education. Now we are trying to look at upgrading the standard of higher education,” he added.