The conviction of the BNP’s senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman in a money-laundering case has caught the party high-ups off guard.
After the government turned down the BNP’s call for a national unity to tackle militancy, the party was mulling a national convention involving other political parties outside the ruling AL-led alliance.
However, the Tarique Rahman issue has dealt a blow to the party’s plans.
BNP leaders have blamed it on the government.
Its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday said the government has attacked the heart of the BNP.
A number of top party leaders have echoed the same.
They alleged the government has no willingness to hold talks with them. On the contrary, they are busy keeping the BNP under pressure.
Although the government is pointing to the BNP’s association with Jamaat, in reality the government does not actually want the BNP to part ways with Jamaat.
“Intellectuals were suggesting that BNP leave Jamaat and there was a chance that could happen. Was it really necessary to deliver the Tariqure verdict at such a time? It only proves that they are not keen on an understanding. They want politics to remain confrontational,” former BNP joint secretary general Md Shahjahan told Prothom Alo.
A number of senior BNP leaders said they want to create a platform bringing together some political parties which are important in Bangladesh’s context.
They also have a plan to hold a convention, but no one has been contacted yet.
BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said there has been no progress in this regard. The BNP chairperson has talked to some people while unofficial talks are also being held.
Zafrullah Chowdhury, a well-wisher and a critic of the BNP, said, “I heard they have contacted some left-leaning parties. We may see some results next week.”
The BNP leaders think their party can do something to address the threats of militancy, regardless of the time required. They believe people have taken positively party chief Khaleda Zia’s call for a national unity after the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks.
Party vice chairman Abdullah Al Noman said they may sever relations with Jamaat in the greater interests of the nation. “But it appears that the government does not want that to happen,” he alleged.
“The government could have easily banned Jamaat, but they did not do so. This may be a tactical decision,” former Dhaka University vice chancellor Emajuddin Ahmed told Prothom Alo.
“When the BNP and the Jamaat are together, they can continue blaming them. But once they part ways, who will they blame?”
Source: Prothom Alo
