Softening its position on the December deadline for the next parliamentary election, BNP leader Tarique Rahman picked early February during his much-anticipated meeting with the interim governmentโs chief adviser, Muhammad Yunus, in London on Friday, and seemed happy to have won his bet.
By that time, the interim government will do the needful to achieve sufficient progress on reforms and the trial against Sheikh Hasina, and other top leaders of the Awami League.
The Election Commission will declare a specific date soon, Yunusโ adviser Khalilur Rahman said in a joint press conference at the Dorchester hotel, when Awami League leaders and activists were protesting oustide the venue for the fourth consecutive day.
Early on Friday, the Awami League declared a monthlong demonstration programme starting on June 16, demanding the resignation of Yunus and an end to the farcical trials at the International Crimes Tribunal.
Last week, party President and five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged all to unite for a strong movement to unseat the West- and Pakistan-backed Yunus-led illegal government.
Announcing his resolve to try the conspirators, she has described how Yunus and his gang captured power in a meticulously designed plan using the student movement and carried out targeted killings, looting, and arson in July-August and afterwards.
At least 1,40,000 Awami League leaders and activists are now in jail, with 80,000 cases filed across the country. Police data show that in the last 10 months, over 3,60,000 people were arrested on various charges.
Series of dramas
For many months amid his eroding popularity, Yunus had been in a quagmire over his June deadline, with the army chief too demanding it by December. General Waker-uz-Zaman in May expressed clear discontent over some crucial decisions of the interim government, including the Rakhine Corridor and the Chittagong Port handling.
To regain support, Yunus immediately staged a resignation drama, but it became laughable instead.
He called meetings with around 30 like-minded political parties. Unfortunately, all but three partiesโJamaat-e-Islami, AB Party and the Kingโs party, the National Citizen Party (NCP)โsupported the BNPโs stance.
Meanwhile, the BNP and civil society kept opposing the governmentโs plans on the corridor and Chittagong Port and kept questioning its efforts to cling to power.
As a trump card, Yunus then revived the August 21 grenade attack case in the Supreme Court to appeal against the acquittal of Tarique and other convicts.
Then, in his pre-Eid address, Yunus declared a specific month for the election, the first half of April, apparently as a bargaining chip. But he was met with severe criticism from the BNP.
Though with this, Yunus and his press secretary finally stopped reiterating their vague promise of holding the polls by June 30, 2026.
So, the post-Eid gathering of Yunus and Tarique in London became successful, with both sides describing it as satisfactory. Tariqueโs mother and party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, who last week called for unity, has also welcomed the agreement on the polls date.
Happy ending!
The one and a half hour meeting started at 2pm Bangladesh time. National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman alias Roger Rahman and BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury addressed a joint media conference at 4:15pm.
In the question-answer session, Amir Khasru said: โReform is a continuous process. It is not that all the reforms will be achieved now. There will be some reforms in sectors where we could reach a consensus before the elections; reforms will continue after the elections too.โ
Asked about the return of Tarique Rahman to Bangladesh, the senior BNP leader said: โWe donโt think there is any necessity for discussion about this. Mr. Tarique Rahman could return to the country whenever he wants. So, he will make this decision at an appropriate time.โ
Khalil said that they are confident that progress will be made on reforms and trials before the election.
Later, Amir Khasru said, โWe have already said that we all will have to work together to build a new Bangladesh, not only before the election but also after the election.โ
Khalilur added: โA joint statement could not have been made without satisfaction.โ
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