The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Thursday started holding meetings with like-minded parties that are participating in the anti-government simultaneous movement.
The liaison committee meetings were held with two alliances and a party at the BNP chairperson鈥檚 Gulshan office on the day, while meetings with two parties and an alliance are scheduled to be held today.
The opposition parties are holding these meetings to fix the next course of movement as the BNP decided at its last standing committee meeting that to announce a fresh programme over several issues, including the release of its ailing chairperson Khaleda Zia, skyrocketing commodity prices, rampant corruption and increasing foreign debt.
In Thursday鈥檚 meetings, BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury led the BNP side, while top leaders of Democratic Left Unity, Gono Forum faction (Mostafa Mohsin Montu) and National Democratic Movement led their own sides.
Emerging from the meetings, Khasru told reporters that they started this round of meetings to take decision about the next programmes of the ongoing anti-government simultaneous movement.
No movement can be stopped by terrorising the gathering of 20鈥�30 lakh people as the people of Bangladesh have proved it through the ongoing movement, he said, adding that many people questioned when the movement would resume.聽
鈥極ne thing needs to be clarified, the movement is ongoing,鈥� he said.
鈥業f they [Awami League] think that the movement is over by firing tear gas and shooting at the gathering of millions of people, the movement is not over,鈥� said the BNP leader.
Regarding the meeting, Khasru said that to bring more speed in the ongoing simultaneous movement parties were working together.
鈥極ur consensus has already been reached. We all have one destination鈥攖he liberation of Bangladesh, the liberation of democracy, the liberation of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia,鈥� he said.
Democratic Left Unity coordinator Harun Al Rashid Khan, National Democratic Movement president Bobby Hajjaj and Gano Forum general secretary Subrata Chowdhury also vowed to take the ongoing movement forward.
At least 39 political parties have been holding programmes simultaneously with BNP since December 2022.
These parties and alliances are鈥擥anatantra Mancha, a combine six parties, 12 party alliance, Gano Forum and People鈥檚 Party, a bi-party alliance, Samamana Jote, an alliance of 11 parties, Democratic Left Unity, an alliance of four left聽 parties, BNP, Liberal Democratic Party, Gono Odhiker Parishad and Bangladesh Labour Party.
On December 30, 2022, led by BNP, the opposition parties started a simultaneous movement to oust the Awami League-led government.
