Party working body to decide joining EC reform talk

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Awami League (AL) Friday claimed that the 14-party alliance led by AL still remains and it will be strengthened in future, report UNB/ bdnews24.com.
AL presidium member Tofail Ahmed, who has been given the charge to maintain unity in the 14-party, will take initiatives so that the 14-party alliance is further strengthened and the leaders of the 14-party make similar views on any issue.
The AL also expressed solidarity with other political parties, who demanded of the government not to allow Jamaat-e-Islami taking part in elections and bring them to justice for opposing the Liberation War. The demand was made while several parties held dialogues with the Election Commission.
The decisions came from a party presidium meeting chaired by Acting AL President Zillur Rahman at his Gulshan residence. This was the first presidium meeting after the party chief Sheikh Hasina's arrest on July 16.
After the meeting, Zillur Rahman told reporters that the meeting entrusted Tofail Ahmed with the responsibility of maintaining unity among the components of the 14-party combine.
"The 14-party alliance is still alive. We would like to revitalise the umbrella now," Zillur said after the hour-long meeting.
He said the next AL Working Committee meeting would decide if the party would join the EC's proposed dialogue on the reform issue, but the date of the meeting has not been finalised yet.
"After getting the invitation from the Election Commission for joining its dialogue on the reform issue, we will decide if we will join or not and who will participate in the dialogue on behalf of the party," Zillur said.
He urged all party leaders and workers to remain united in the present situation as the country is "passing through a transitional period."
He said the party would arrange milad mahfil and doa on September 28 at Bangabandhu Museum marking the 61st birth anniversary of the party chief Sheikh Hasina.
"As our leader is now under detention, we will not observe the day through any formal programme, but we will arrange milad mahfil and doa seeking her release and long life," the acting AL president said and asked all party leaders and workers to arrange milad mahfil on that day across the country.
He again demanded the release of detained Sheikh Hasina and said they would give emphasis on legal battle for freeing her. "All party leaders and workers are now united about Sheikh Hasina's release," he said.
Tofail said, "The 14-party entity is still intact and in one piece. We'll discuss the electoral reform issues among ourselves first so that we can make clear our stance before the EC in a coordinated manner."
Referring to the September 12 incident of heckling of pro-reform leaders by a group of AL adherents, acting general secretary Mukul Bose, who was also present at the meeting, termed it 'unfortunate' and said those who do not want the party's unity had orchestrated the incident.
AL presidium members Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Tofail Ahmed, Begum Motia Chowdhury and Ataur Rahman Khan Kaiser were present at the meeting.
Of the remaining presidium members, Hasina, Abdul Jalil, Kazi Jafarullah, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim are in jail. Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak and Suranjit Sengupta are abroad while Zohra Tajuddin was absent because of illness.