The BNP has refused to formally react to Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad’s invitation to start a dialogue to end the current political impasse.
Party’s Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi , however, lashed out at the former military ruler, calling him a ‘double-faced’ leader.
“Who’s Ershad? He says different things at different times,” Rizvi said at Monday’s media briefing.
“At one time, he says the people will not forgive him if he joined an unilateral election. But at the same time, several of his party leaders will join the ‘all-party’ cabinet.
“We will not react to his appeal for talks,” said the BNP leader.
Earlier in the morning, Ershad had urged the BNP to join talks for a solution.
“Let’s sit together and hold talks,” he had said at a press conference.
Ershad, who quit the Awami League led Grand Alliance, said the Prime Minister had come forward to hold dialogue.
“Let’s now move forward,” he urged BNP adding his party would boycott the polls if there was any rigging at the polls.
Speaking at the BNP’s Naya Paltan headquarters, Rizvi said: “We don’t want to talk about him. We don’t wish to comment about the man who came from India’s Coochbihar, who doesn’t have any patriotism or ethics, who was once called CMLA (Chief Martial Law Administrator)…”
Rizvi recalled being seriously injured in police action at the Rajshahi University during the anti-Ershad movement in the early ’90s.
He made the BNP’s position clear on the ‘all-party’ polls-time government issue.
“The government is going ahead with the ‘all-party’ cabinet as it wants to hold a unilateral election.
“The BNP has nothing to do with this process,” he said.
“We have repeatedly said the talks must take place over an election-time non-party government.
“We will wait until the last moment to reach an agreement through a dialogue to end the crisis,” he added.
Source: Bd news24
