Dhaka: Awami League general secretary and Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) Syed Ashraful Islam urged the opposition BNP to place again a notice seeking adjournment motion for restoration of the caretaker government system in the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament).

"Place again your proposal, which you withdrew earlier, in the parliament for the interest of democracy and the country. Come to the parliament and discuss in the House on the interim government for the election period. We are giving you words that we will not argue or contradict your points banking on our majority (in the House)," he said.

Syed Ashraf said this on Saturday while speaking at the convention organised at the city's Engineers Institution auditorium to forge a greater unity of democratic and progressive workers for building a secular Bangladesh on the basis of the spirit of the Liberation War.

Convener of the convention preparatory committee Pankaj Bhattacharjee chaired the function, also addressed, among others, by president of the Communist Party of Bangladesh Muzahidul Islam Selim, Workers' Party president Rashed Khan Menon, MP, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal general secretary Sharif Nurul Ambia and Ganatantri Party general secretary Nurur Rahman Selim.

The AL general secretary said, "We hoped that the opposition would vent their opinion to the nation through the Jatiya Sangsad. We also decided to ventilate our opinion to the nation through the Jatiya Sangsad. It is political culture. But, they (opposition) withdrew their notice on adjournment motion after their return to the House." By doing this, he said the opposition has proved that they do not want solution to the problem through talks and they want to grab power through conspiracy.

"BNP is not an alternative to Awami League now rather Hefazat and Jamaat are," Syed Ashraf said adding: "There will be political competition among the believers of democracy in our country. But, Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefazat-e-Islam are the main enemies of democracy, Awami League and the government at present."

Calling upon the leaders of the left-leaning parties to get united, Syed Ashraf said, "You have to forge a grand unity to fill the void created in the country's political arena."

Criticising BNP's budget reaction, the LGRD Minister said, "We hoped that the opposition will come up with their analysis on the budget and assist the government to implement its people- friendly proposals and they will exert pressure on the government to reject the anti-people proposals in the budget."

But, he said, the opposition is now a political bankrupt and that's why they don't want to face the government politically and have taken refuge in Hefazat and Jamaat.

In a rebuttal to the CPD's budget reaction, Syed Ashraf said,"We doubt whether it was budget reaction of CPD's or of Debapriya Saheb's. An institution like CPD has become bankrupt now. An NGO can't be an opposition to a government."

Criticising some intellectuals, the AL leader said, "A few so-called intellectuals turn up at the television talk shows. They talk on all the subjects in the world and of all disciplines including disruption in cotton production, causes of flood and budget. They don't want election neither they want caretaker government, but they want to become advisers of caretaker government for some days."

In his speech, Rashed Khan Menon urged the leaders of the left- leaning parties to forge a greater unity along with the forces loyal to independence with a view to floating an alternative left front.

Ends/OSR/AMA/08/06/13