Opposition to seek President's intervention

The Opposition will seek the President's intervention to end the political impasse in Bangladesh, the BNP has said.

Chief Political Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 19 Nov 2013, 06:15 AM
Updated : 19 Nov 2013, 11:00 AM

Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia is scheduled to meet President Md Abdul Hamid on Tuesday evening to 'discuss the political situation and find a way out of the crisis', party leaders said.

She will lead a 20-strong team comprising of 18-Party alliance leaders.

The Opposition and the ruling coalition are yet to reach an agreement on the polls-time dispensation.

On Monday, the President administered the oath of office to eight new members of an 'all-party' cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to supervise the 10th national election.

The BNP-led Opposition is demanding a non-party government oversight in the polls, claiming an election under the Sheikh Hasina-cabinet will not be 'free and fair'.

"We want an end to this crisis so that a free, fair and neutral election is held with everyone's participation," BNP spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told bdnews24.com.

File Photo

Asked about meeting’s agenda, the party's Standing Committee member Mahbubur Rahman said: "The President is the guardian of the state. We'll seek his intervention to end current impasse."

The 'all-party' government, he maintained, was not in keeping with the Constitution.

The BNP had rejected the Prime Minister's offer to join the all-party cabinet, calling it a 'farce'.

"The Leader of the Opposition will explain to the President their position on the non-party government," said Mahbubur.

It will be Khaleda Zia's first meeting with President Hamid since his election earlier this year.

She had sought an appointment shortly after the all-party cabinet was sworn in on Monday.

The delegation will include the BNP's acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul, Standing Committee members RA Gani, Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Mahbubur Rahman, Jamiruddin Sircar, AASM Hannan Shah, Goyeswar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Liberal Democratic Party chief Oli Ahmed, BJP chief Andaleeve Rahman, Islami Oikya Jote chief Abdul Latif Nezami, Jamaat-e-Islami working committee member ANM Shamsul Islam, MP, Khilafat Majlish chief Muhammad Ishaq, JagPa chief Shafiul Alam Pradhan, NDP chief Khandker Golam Murtaza, Labour Party chief Mustafizur Rahman Eran, Muslim League chief AHM Kamruzzaman Khan and Kalyan Party chief Syed Mohammad Ibrahim.