As part of its strategy, the BNP finally dropped the Jamaat and three other political parties from Monday’s Dhaka rally to send a positive message to the ruling party and also to international community that they were sincere about holding talks.
Some party insiders said the full responsibility of holding talks now lies with the ruling Awami League.
Despite being a key ally of the BNP-led 18-party alliance, the exclusion of the Jamaat-e-Islami from Monday’s rally boosted up the party leaders and activists to organise public rally and wage movements alone, they said.
A number of senior leaders said they were thinking of leaving out the Jamaat, Islami Oikyo Jote, Khelafat Andolon and Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam from the black flag procession programme on January 29 - the first day of the parliament session.
The BNP will observe further programmes alone in the coming months and will watch the government’s attitude towards the BNP. They will then make a decision regarding their relation with the right-wing Islamist political parties.
However, the party will not cut ties right now, as they are yet to receive a positive response from the government regarding the dialogue to hold a fresh elections which the ruling party has hinted earlier.
“About 90% people of the country want election under a non-partisan government and the Jamaat is part of it. It is a strategic alliance, not a permanent one. The party on Monday proved that it can organise any sort of programme alone,” Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, adviser to the BNP chairperson, said.
A senior leader of the party seeking anonymity said the government had set two main conditions for talks: the BNP had to shun violence and cut its ties with the Jamaat.
“By holding rally alone yesterday we have showed our positive gesture and now the government has to respond positively. We are planning to hold January 29 programme alone too,” he said.
The BNP leader also said: “If you listen to the speech carefully you will see the party chairperson stressed on the word “peaceful” and expressed eagerness for talks.”
The BNP has already backtracked from announcing any tough programme auch as hartals and blockades, deciding to engage in softer programmes in the coming months such as demonstrations and meetings. They have also hinted at rallies in districts across the country, party insiders said.
However, while the party is not willing to leave Jamaat right now, the European Union parliament adopted a resolution on Thursday urging the BNP to distance itself from the Jamaat and Hefazat. As a result, the party planned to observe its programmes alone for the next few months, they said.
The EU parliament stressed that “parties which turn to terrorist acts should be banned.”
