‘Post-polls talks’ smokescreen thickens as Quader, Imam give different accounts

A smokescreen created over the report that Sheikh Hasina is inviting the political parties to the Ganabhaban again has not cleared.

It has rather thickened as two senior figures in the ruling Awami League gave differing accounts on the issue on Tuesday.

HT Imam, the political affairs adviser to the prime minister, said Hasina will hold dialogue with the parties while Obaidul Quader, the Awami League general secretary, questioned why there should be talks in the first place.

But it was Quader who on Sunday told reporters about the plan to invite the political parties “to a post-election dialogue”. Hasina had held talks with the parties in the lead-up to the Dec 30 parliamentary polls.

On Monday, however, Quader quickly changed his tone, saying there would be no talks and that Hasina would only exchange greetings with the parties.

After their reappointment, Imam and four other advisers to the prime minister paid tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi 32 on Tuesday.

Hasina is organising talks again because she wants everyone’s help, Imam told reporters there.

“If the other parties agree that Sheikh Hasina is the prime minister, I think they will also agree that they must help the prime minister. That’s why the prime minister said she will hold another round of dialogue,” he said.

“She has invited all the parties, who had joined the previous talks, as well to the (new) dialogue,” he added.

Imam, who was the co-chairman of the ruling party’s election steering committee, ruled out possibilities of meeting the Jatiya Oikya Front alliance’s demand for fresh elections.    

Terming the demands “quite unrealistic and ridiculous”, Imam said the prime minister’s advisers and the members of her cabinet would solicit help of everyone to develop the country.

“If the prime minister asks, we will speak to the others (political parties) as well. Please come and help us,” he added, urging the opposition parties to cooperate with the government.

About half an hour after Imam made the remarks and a few hundred metres from the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, Quader gave a different version on the issue while speaking at a programme of the party’s Dhaka Metropolitan North unit.

The Awami League general secretary claimed he did not mention the word “dialogue” on Sunday.

“We didn’t say anything about dialogue. There is nothing to do if someone presents flimsy news,” he said and claimed there was no mention of dialogue in audio and video clips of his speech.

He repeated his Monday remarks that Hasina wanted to invite the leaders of the 75 political parties she had talks with before the elections in order to exchange greetings.

There would be no talks this time, Quader said. “Where is the smokescreen on dialogue? I didn’t utter the word dialogue.

“It was said that the leader will invite the parties to the Ganabhaban to exchange greetings. That’s what we said. Why should there be a smokescreen? Why there should be dialogue?” Quader, Hasina’s cabinet colleague, asked.

He also claimed the Awami League chief “never spoke about dialogue”.

“What I said is that she will invite the parties, but not to a dialogue! I don’t know where this word came from,” he added.