BNP Secretary General and LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan made the formal offer to Deputy Leader of the Opposition Abdul Hamid at a discussion programme in the city.

"We want to reach a consensus with your party on national issues. If need be, the dialogue will carry on from dawn to dusk. Please convey this message to your party chief and provide for the dialogue," Bhuiyan told Hamid.

But Hamid blamed the ruling coalition for not allowing the opposition to speak on the floor of the House.

"We see no reason for going to the parliament, as we are not allowed to speak. The treasury bench should change its attitude towards the opposition," he said.

Asking Bhuiyan for taking initiative to resolve the stalemate, Hamid said the AL would join the last parliamentary session if the government were sincere in its attitude.

"The reason why we are not going to the House should be discussed," he added.

Bhuiyan and Hamid exchanged the views during a discussion meeting, marking the death anniversary of Dr Shamsul Alam Khan Milon on Dhaka Medical College premises.

Presided over by Bangladesh Medical Association President and Vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Prof MA Hadi, the meeting was addressed, among others, by Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal President Hasanul Haq Inu, State Minister for Labour and Manpower Amanullah Aman and Jatiya Party leader Shafiul Alam Prodhan.

"In democracy, no elected person has the privilege of doing whatever he or she wishes to. It brings autocracy in the country if the ruling party forgets the people till the next poll," Hamid said at the meet.

Bhuiyan shot down the conception of formation of "national or consensus" government, saying, "BNP does not believe in those. Election is the only way to come to power and persons having no ability to be elected are talking about formation of a national government."

Inu, however, reiterated his party's proposal of forming national government and said, "A national government is urgently needed instead of a one-party government in the present perspective of crime, globalisation and rise of fundamentalism."

Menon observed that the harvest of democracy has been confined within corruption, communalism and criminalisation.