PM making a mistake: BNP

BNP senior leader Abdullah Al Noman today said the prime minister’s remark on their proposed national unity will divide the nation instead of making them united to tackle a serious national problem like militancy.

“The prime minister is making a mistake by saying that a national unity already exists. Militancy is a disease and a national problem. It won’t be possible to overcome the problem with the lone efforts of a particular party or government,” he said.

Speaking at a discussion he further said, “It’s not the national unity what the prime minister has said, and it will only divide the nation. We can’t put the nation in danger by dividing them. So, we again call upon the government for forging a national unity.”

Jatiyatabadi Desh Bachao Manush Bachao Andolan, a pro-BNP platform, arranged the programme at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU).

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a press conference ruled out the possibility of forging any national unity with BNP saying a national consensus among the mass people has already developed after the Gulshan and Sholakia terror attacks.

Opposing the prime minister’s comment, Noman said the national unity will have to be formed with all people regardless of their party and opinion.

He also urged Sheikh Hasina to make it clear before the nation what she meant by national unity.

“It’s true the country’s 16 crore people think militancy is a disease and we must get rid of it together… she (PM) could have said people want unity and we all parties both the ruling and opposition and all professionals will reflect their aspirations by forging a national unity under the current context of the country,” he said.

The BNP leader said an effective strategy and programme can be worked out to tackle militancy if a dialogue of national leaders and different professionals is held.

Mentioning that different countries are offering Bangladesh their assistances to combat militancy and terrorism, Noman said no external help is necessary to overcome the crisis if the country’s people get united under the national leaders and put up a strong resistance against it.

He also said there is no reason to undermine the ability of Bangladesh Army and other law enforcement agencies to tackle the national crisis as they have long been working abroad with reputation in maintaining peace.