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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Jalil believes govt to fall by April 30 |
| 2004-03-15 |
| Rejecting the government’s offer for dialogue, Awami League (AL) General Secretary Abdul Jalil yesterday reiterated his party’s stand to topple the BNP-led alliance government by April this year. "We’re confident we’ll free the people from the present-day misrule by April 30, which will be the last day of this government," he told newsmen at a discussion session on Bangladesh’s politics arranged by Dhaka Reporters’ Unity at its Segun Bagicha office. "I framed the deadline in light of my political experience," he added. Terming the offer for dialogue as ’too late’ Jalil said, although the BNP secretary general urged the AL to join parliament, he [Mannan Bhuiyan] had "no power to implement any decision." "He isn’t the secretary general of BNP, it’s some one else," the senior AL leader said alluding to Tariq Rahman, senior joint secretary general of BNP and elder son of the prime minister. On the issue of godfathers, Jalil said, "I won’t say we don’t have any godfathers, but they were never allowed in the forefront, politically." And they will not be allowed to do so in the future too, he promised, claiming, in comparison, there were several hundred godfathers in the BNP-Jamaat alliance. On the recent attack on former president Badruddoza Chowdhury, Jalil said it proved that the BNP did not believe in democracy and freedom of opinion. He called for a greater unity of progressive democratic forces and professional bodies against the alliance government, which he claimed was corrupt, harbouring violence, violator of human rights and an absolute failure. |
| Posted by:Fred |