Kamal hails PM's offer of dialogue

Jatiya Oikyafront Convener Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's decision to hold fresh talks with political parties, saying it was a positive step, the UNB reports.

Talking to UNB, he also said they would take a positive decision about joining the dialogue with the PM after discussions with their alliance partners.

"I called upon the government to hold talks with political parties to find an effective way for holding a fresh credible election. Now the prime minister herself has decided to hold the talks. I hail the decision, and it's surely a positive initiative," Dr Kamal said.

Once they get the invitation to join the talks, he said their alliance leaders would sit together and fix what might be discussed at the talks.

He said he expected a positive outcome for the sake of the country's people if the dialogue was held.

At a discussion on Thursday, Dr Kamal had called upon the government to hold a national dialogue on finding ways for arranging a fresh national election as per the constitution.

Contacted, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir refused to make any comment over the matter. "I'm not aware of any such development. So, I'm not willing to say anything about it right now."

Earlier in the day, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said Hasina would hold fresh dialogue with the political parties that joined talks at the Gono Bhaban before the December 30 election.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had invited all the political parties, including BNP, Jatiya Oikyafront and Jukto Front, for dialogues before the polls…she will invite them again for exchanging views with them. The dialogues will be held at the Gono Bhaban,” he said.

He said the PM would send letters to Oikyafront, Juktafront, 14-party, Jatiya Party and other political parties inviting them to engage in talks at Gono Bhaban to discuss various issues.

Quader said this at a joint meeting with AL leaders and MPs from Dhaka and its adjacent districts.

The AL general secretary also hoped that all the political parties, including the BNP, would take part in the upcoming upazila parishad election.

“Every party will have to take preparations for the Upazila Parishad polls from now on…we hope all parties, including the BNP-led Jatiya Oikyafront, will join the polls,” he said.

“We don't think that our opposition party is weak. We feel happy to contest in any election.”

The meeting was held at AL's Bangabandhu Avenue office in the capital.

Earlier in November, Hasina held dialogues with political leaders of different parties before the 11th parliamentary election over different major contentious issues, including the nature of the polls-time government and dissolution of parliament before the announcement of the polls schedule, among others.

Quader said the AL would hold a grand rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on January 19 to celebrate its landslide victory in the December 30 general election.

AL Joint General Secretaries Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif and Advocate Jahangir Kabir Nanak, its Organising Secretaries AFM Bahauddin Nasim and Advocate Mesbah Uddin Siraj, AL Information and Research Secretary Advocate Afzal Hossain, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque and State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, among others,  were present at the meeting.

Earlier On Friday, Quader had turned down the call for talks and termed it an absurd demand by the Oikyafront.

Two days later, the AL general secretary said the PM had said at a joint meeting of their advisory council and the central working committee on Saturday that she would again invite those who had joined the talks earlier.

Before the announcement of 11th parliamentary election, Jatiya Oikyafront leaders, led by Dr Kamal Hossain, sat twice with the PM on November 1 and November 7 last at the Gono Bhaban.