The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has not made a final decision on the removal of President Mohammed Shahabuddin following a meeting with leaders from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and the National Citizens' Committee, Hasnat Abdullah, convenor of Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
At the meeting, the party said it will discuss the matter internally before making a decision, said Hasnat.
On Saturday, at the BNP Chairperson's political office in Gulshan, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and several other BNP leaders held a meeting with seven leaders from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and the National Citizens’ Committee.
Following the meeting, Hasnat said: "On October 23, we called for national unity. The president now stands as another obstacle to the dissolution of fascism."
He said: "We are holding discussions with political parties across the country about the new political arrangement. Today, we discussed three main points with the BNP: the formation and declaration of a Second Republic; the swift removal of President Mohammed Shahabuddin to resolve the political crisis; and the means of governance under national unity."
Hasnat said that the BNP listened to their demands and said they would discuss them internally before announcing their position.
Hasnat also stated that in a separate meeting with Jamaat-e-Islami, they reached an agreement on the issue of the president’s removal.
He said that the Islami Andolan Bangladesh also supports the removal of the president on moral grounds.
In the coming days, further discussions on these issues will be held with the Ganatantra Mancha, the 12-Party Alliance, and the Gono Odhikar Parishad, Hasnat Abdullah added.
