BNP ready to sit with govt: Fakhrul

Mirza Fakhrul Islam.

BNP is ready to sit with the government anywhere to discuss the caretaker government issue, said party spokesperson Miraz Fakhrul Islam said on Tuesday.

“We are ready to sit for a dialogue. The government has to take the initiative, but the government is not taking any move,” said Fakhrul, also acting secretary general of the main opposition party.
He came up with the remarks when journalists sought to know the BNP’s stance on Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus’ comments that he will happily share his thoughts with the government if it wishes to hear him like different political parties did in the last two months.
Fakhrul said they — Dr Yunus and opposition — are saying same thing: “The dialogue will be held if the government wants.”
“If the government wants to hold dialogues on caretaker government system to hold the next general elections smoothly, we are ready to meet anywhere,” Fakhrul told the newsmen at BNP’s Nayapaltan headquarters in the capital.
Fakhrul also said if United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call for talks between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for a peaceful resolution of the ongoing political crisis does not succeed, the country will face serious constitutional crisis.
About Hasina’s remark on decentralisation of power, Fakhrul alleged that it may be her plan to launch the ‘Bakshal system’ in the country again.
Hasina on Monday said if her party returned to power, they would launch a new plan of decentralisation of power, which would allow the central government only to formulate policy, ensure monitoring, and allocate budgets.
“We will have to make a plan to decentralise power by keeping only policy, monitoring and budget allocation in the hands of the central government, while the local administrations will take care of the law and order, health, and education, among others,” she told a meeting with all district parishad administrators at her Gono Bhaban residence.

Source: The Daily Star