Fakhrul slams Jamaat for skipping talks

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday criticised the Jamaat-e-Islami for skipping Tuesday's National Consensus Commission meeting.

In an oblique reference to the Jamaat, he said the party is concerned about how much influence it will retain after the election.

"That is why they were disappointed and did not attend the meeting," Fakhrul said at a programme of Dhaka North City Unit BNP.

"Many were not happy with the meeting outcome because the election would bring danger for them. As long as there is no election, they hold considerable importance," he said.

Once the election concludes, the BNP leader said, the party supported by the people will come to power.

The programme was held on the premises of Sunbeams School to launch the distribution of membership forms and a membership renewal campaign for the Turag unit of Dhaka North BNP.

According to media reports, the Jamaat skipped the consensus commission's discussion with political parties on Tuesday as a form of protest against the outcome of a recent meeting between Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman in London.

The party reportedly informed the commission that it felt ignored after Yunus and Tarique issued a joint statement agreeing to hold the election in February next year.

Fakhrul described the meeting as a rare and historic event, as it paved the way for a peaceful democratic transition.

He said Yunus invited Tarique to the meeting when a debate was going on and a rift was developing between the interim government and political parties over an unfavourable election timeline in April next year.

At the meeting, Fakhrul said, both Prof Yunus and Tarique moved away from their earlier stances on the election schedule and agreed to hold the polls in the week before Ramadan.

"This is what we call statesmanship. Without fuelling division or conflict, these two leaders have created an opportunity for a peaceful election," he said.