The interim government will sit with political parties and other stakeholders tomorrow to finalise the proclamation of July uprising.

"We hope that through Thursday's meeting, a consensus will be reached to finalise a document. On that day, it will also become clear when the proclamation can be announced and what role the government will play in facilitating its announcement," Mahfuj Alam, adviser to the interim government.

He came up with the announcement yesterday evening during a press conference held at the Foreign Service Academy.

In reaction to this statement, Samanta Shermeen, spokesperson of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, said, "The government has taken a long time to take any visible steps. We are not taking it cordially."

Since the government scheduled a meeting on Thursday and stated that a date will be announced there, she said, "We hope they will not break their promise this time."

Asked about their next step, Samanta said, "As our various leaders and activists are engaged in different areas to carry out programmes, we have not yet had the opportunity to hold discussions among ourselves. We will hold discussions tomorrow [Thursday] and announce our next course of action."

Meanwhile, at the Foreign Service Academy, Mahfuj said the Anti-Discrimination Students' Movement was supposed to announce the proclamation, but later the government said that it would take the initiative to prepare the proclamation after consulting with all relevant parties.

"Over the past two weeks or so, we, from the advisory council, have tried to prepare a draft of the proclamation based on the students' recommendations. We have also attempted to engage with various stakeholders, including political parties, to gather opinions. However, we have not been able to communicate with everyone.

"Through the discussions that we held with several key groups, including major political parties such as the BNP and Jamaat, women's organisations, teacher platforms, and other groups, a consensus was witnessed on the need for the proclamation. However, there is no agreement on the time of the declaration or what its content would be."

Mahfuj said the draft they prepared has been shared informally with several groups, including teacher organisations and political parties including BNP, Jamaat, Gono Songhoti, Gono Odhikar, Islami Andolon Bangladesh, and others.

"Their feedback has been collected and analysed. Most of them agree on the majority of the clauses, but there are a few clauses where they have expressed disagreements. They are currently consulting with internal forums and external experts to clarify their positions and also wish to propose some additional suggestions.

"We believe that if this process is finalised through an all-party meeting, and if students give their consent, national unity can be maintained, and the proclamation will be fruitful and effective."

Asked on what issues there are disagreements, Mahfuj said that they are not yet clear on the specific areas of their disagreements but will know more after further discussions.

On December 29, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and the Jatiya Nagorik Committee declared that they would announce the proclamation of the July uprising at the Central Shaheed Minar on December 31.

This move sparked various discussions in political circles, with many questioning the timing and potential impact of the declaration.

However, the Chief Adviser's Press Wing said on December 30 night that the interim government had taken the initiative to announce the proclamation based on national consensus.

Following this development, the two platforms said they would not announce the proclamation but hold a programme titled "March for Unity" at the Shaheed Minar on December 31.

From the rally, the student leaders gave the government a deadline of January 15 to announce the proclamation.

On January 4, the leaders of the students' and citizens' platforms announced that they would conduct mass contact campaign as part of observing their "Declaration Week," from January 6 to 11. Later, they extended their programme till January 14.

On January 9, during a press briefing, Mahfuj said the interim government will not formulate the July Proclamation but will facilitate the process for creating a consensus among political parties and stakeholders on the draft prepared by the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement.