'Exchanged greetings'

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir exchanged greetings at the Armed Forces Day functions at Dhaka Cantonment on Thursday.

Monirul Islambdnews24.com
Published : 21 Nov 2013, 06:47 PM
Updated : 21 Nov 2013, 09:13 PM

The smiling photograph of the two in an animated conversation has sparked hope and speculations about a dialogue amid the standoff between the two major political parties of Bangladesh.

The ruling Awami League and main opposition BNP are at loggerheads over the form of the government which will oversee the 10th parliamentary election.

The exchange of greetings between Hasina and Fakhrul at Senakunja in the afternoon has become the key topic in the talk-shows in television channels later at night.

When asked what they spoke about, Fakhrul told bdnews24.com: "Exchanged greetings."

The Prime Minister and the BNP spokesperson were both smiling while they were having a chat. The photo also showed that others, including Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu and Chief Whip in Parliament Abdus Shahid, standing with them were also in a jovial mood.

Shahid told reporters that Hasina urged Fakhrul to start a dialogue to end the crisis. But Fakhrul did not say 'much'.

Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia did not attend the Armed Force Day functions on Thursday. The BNP Chairperson did join the programmes last year along with the Prime Minister, but the two did not face or talk to each other.

The political conflict between the two major parties was not critical last year, like it is now.

Thursday's programmes at the Dhaka Cantonment took place at a time when the country is passing through uncertainty with the main opposition still on the streets demanding a non-party polls-time administration. But the Awami League-led government has already started the process to form the 'all-party' interim cabinet ignoring the Opposition's demand.

To push for its demand, the BNP-led 18-Party alliance observed 10 days of general strikes in the last few weeks which mostly caused sufferings to the general people. The Opposition has held the government which did not meet its demand responsible for 'forcing' them to announce such programmes.

The ruling party leaders, however, said the Opposition's demand was not 'constitutional' and its movement was only to pave the way for 'undemocratic forces' to come to power.

The concern of the general people over a possible chaos in the country due to the conflicting stance of the two major political alliances was also reflected on bdnews24.com's newly introduced 'Public Opinion' section.

Many from across the country have called for an understanding between the parties to avoid a violent conflict.

Amid the political impasse, Thursday’s smiling photograph of the Prime Minister and the BNP spokesperson came as a ray of hope.

Both parties have been calling each other to take initiatives for holding a dialogue over the polls-time dispensation.

After eight members of an 'all-party' interim cabinet took oath on Monday, Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia had met President Abdul Hamid on Tuesday and requested him to step in and ask the government to sit with the Opposition for talks.

The written demand of the Opposition submitted to the President that day has also been conveyed to the government from Bangabhaban, said state news agency BSS on Thursday.

Grand Alliance leaders in a charming moment with BNP spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at the Armed Forces Day functions at Senakunja on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was accompanied by several other BNP Standing Committee members, including Mahbubur Rahman, at the Armed Forces Day functions at Senakunja.

Fakhrul was also apparently in a cheerful mood during his conversations with several ruling Grand Alliance leaders at the programme.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, who was an associate of Fakhrul during the student movement in the 1960s, also looked delighted to see his old comrade. Both were in left-leaning Student Union.

Nahid was seen hugging Fakhrul on the photo while JaSaD President Hasanul Haq Inu, who was also a student leader back in the sixties, was standing right beside the BNP leader.

Standing beside them was another former leftist leader Suranjit Sengupta and Samyabadi Dal General Secretary Dilip Barua. Both of them also shared a laugh with the trio.

Speaker of Parliament Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain and cabinet members also attended the programmes at Senakunja among others.