BNP holds talks with Labour Party to wage united movement

Three days after a meeting with Nagorik Oikya, the BNP on Friday sat with the Labour Party, one of the components of the 20-party alliance, to forge a unity among political parties to wage a greater movement for the "restoration" of democracy.

A nine-member delegation of the Labour Party, led by its chairman Mostafizur Rahman Iran, had talks with BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office.

Nazrul Islam Khan, BNP standing committee member and 20-party coordinator, was also present.

Later, Nazrul told the reporters they discussed the current political situation of the country. ''We also talked about our next course of action and strategies to implement our programmes to overcome such a situation."

Without elaborating on the meeting outcomes, he said they will come up with an announcement about their future course of action following their talks with other parties.

Mostafizur Iran said they sat with the BNP at a critical juncture in the nation. "You know that there is no democracy and there is no right to vote in Bangladesh….We welcome the BNP's dialogue at such a time."

The BNP will succeed in its efforts to turn Bangladesh into a democratic state and implement the spirit and the aspirations of the Liberation War by uniting the political parties, he said. "Our party will extend all support to the BNP in its struggle to restore people's democratic rights."

On Tuesday, the BNP formally began a dialogue with other opposition parties with the first meeting with Nagorik Oikya aimed at forging unity among opposition political parties.

The BNP standing committee decided to hold talks with political parties and finalise an outline of a united movement through the discussions.