BNP will sit for a dialogue with the government on October 15 where it will raise issues like registration with the Election Commission (EC), lifting the state of emergency and ensuring a level playing field for all political parties for participation in parliamentary polls.
The party announced this yesterday following a meeting of its “dialogue preparation committee” headed by party standing committee member Chowdhury Tanbir Ahmed Siddiky.
Talking to newsmen after the dialogue committee’s meeting at the Naya Paltan party headquarters in the capital, Tanbir said BNP is not opposed to registration with the EC. He however declined to elaborate.
Meanwhile, LGRD adviser Anwarul Iqbal had earlier told The Daily Star that they wanted to have a dialogue with BNP on October 8 but the party wanted to sit on October 15.
Tanbir said yesterday, “We (BNP) are supposed to sit with the government on October 15, and it is sure the dialogue will be held.”
He went on, “We, the think tank committee, today (Thursday) discussed the pros and cons of the dialogue — what we will discuss there.
“We will submit our recommendations in this regard to party Chairperson Khaleda Zia through Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain.”
Tanbir also said they would finalise agenda of the dialogue after the scheduled meeting of the four-party alliance on October 12.
In reply to a question, BNP Joint Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan, also a member of the five-member dialogue committee, said they are not against getting registered with the EC.
The committee members said BNP will place at the dialogue its five-point demand that includes lifting the state of emergency, scrapping the amendments to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), easing party registration provisions, deferring the dates of upazila parishad elections and release of all political leaders.
Tanbir said BNP is ready to participate in the election, and urged the government to create a level playing field for all parties.
Nazrul Islam said, “We hope our dialogue with the government will help remove all the hurdles we are facing regarding registration.”
No election would be acceptable leaving BNP outside the electoral race, he noted.
“There are some unnecessary, irrelevant and unclear matters in the registration process, and some conditions have been imposed to control the parties,” he said, adding these will be raised at talks with the government.
Tanbir said BNP wants to cooperate with the government in holding a free and fair election.
He replied in negative when asked whether his party has received invitation from the government for a dialogue.
Other members of the dialogue committee are BNP Vice President MK Anwar, MA Mannan and Rizvi Ahmed.
The dialogue preparation committee met with Khandaker Delwar at his Nam Bhaban residence yesterday evening.
Later at night Delwar and Rizvi Ahmed met with party Chairperson Khaleda Zia at her cantonment residence for around an hour. Details of the meeting could not be known.
But party insiders said Delwar submitted to Khaleda the draft agenda for the dialogue prepared by the committee.
Former president Abdur Rahman Biswas and his wife also visited Khaleda at her cantonment residence and spent about an hour there.
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