Bangladesh News

The Awami League (AL) last night categorically rejected BNP’s call for a united movement to overcome the existing political crisis.

The decision was made at a meeting of the AL presidium, the highest policy-making body of the party, which also stated that the caretaker government has no authority to review the constitution.

“There will never be unity between Awami League and its like-minded parties and those who are responsible for 1/11 and the war criminals,” AL acting General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam told reporters hinting at BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami after the presidium meeting last night.

The meeting was held at AL acting President Zillur Rahman’s Gulshan home.

BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday said, “A united movement is now the only way to overcome the existing crises.”

On June 02, AL rejected the BNP chairperson’s call for all-party unity. Ashraf then said as a secular political party, AL would never unite with the “fundamental and radical” BNP-Jamaat.

Responding to Ashraf’s rejection, Delwar yesterday said, “For Allah’s sake and for the people’s interest, please say ‘yes’ to unity.”

On the review of the constitution, Syed Ashraf said, “The sole responsibility of the caretaker government is to hold a free and fair election and reviewing the constitution is the job of an elected parliament.”

Chaired by Zillur Rahman, the meeting discussed the overall political situation in the country including the countrywide mass arrests, mass signature collection campaign of AL and AL central leaders’ tour of districts for holding extended meetings.

Briefing journalists, Ashraf said, “Awami League is part of the 14-party combine. We do not need to unite with others since there are people with us.” The AL acting general secretary also ruled out any possibility of a movement coinciding with the movement of political archrival BNP.

Terming the government’s arrest of around 10,000 people across the country unprecedented, the meeting condemned the mass arrests and demanded immediate release of the “innocent”.

The meeting observed that the government took this step to complicate and make violent the current situation and foil AL central leaders’ organisational tour across the country.