Dhaka: Awami League joint general secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif on Wednesday said the opposition BNP has issued a statement to mislead the ongoing movement of the new generation.

"BNP's mask has been unveiled through this (statement). They are trying to save the war criminals by misleading the movement of the young generation," he said while briefing reporters on the meeting of the Awami League-led 14-Party Alliance held at the political office of Awami League President Sheikh Hasina at Dhanmondi in the city.

The meeting of the alliance was convened for making the February 16 planned road march a success.

Deeply condemning the vandalism let loose by the Jamaat-Shibir hoodlums over the past couple of days, Hanif said the people from all walks of life should build an united resistance against the 'fascist force'.

Laying importance on a consensus to impose a ban on the politics of Jamaat, the AL leader said, "It's a tough task to accomplish when the main opposition has sided with the Jamaat. But time will soon come when BNP will be compelled to retract from its stance."

Awami League Presidium member Mohammad Nasim chaired the meeting, also addressed, among others, by Samybadi Dal general secretary and Industries Minister Dilip Barua, Workers Party politburo member Fazle Hossain Badsha MP, JSD general secretary Sharif Nurul Ambia, Samyabadi Dal leader Abu Hamed Shahabuddin, Ganatantri Party general secretary Nurur Rahman Selim, AL organising secretaries Ahmed Hossain and Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury MP, labour affairs secretary Habibur Rahman Siraj, deputy office secretary Mrinal Kanti Das, central leaders Sujit Roy Nandi and Enamul Huq Shamim.

In his introductory speech at the meeting, Mohammad Nasim said, "When we initiated the war crimes trial process under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we thought we are alone in the venture. But, in the way the new generation has awakened we now got to believe that we are not alone in the movement."

Ends/AMA/13/02/13