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BNP to kick-start campaign to quell AL agitation

Staff Correspondent
The ruling BNP has decided to kickstart a massive political campaign to quell opposition Awami League's planned one-point agitation to overthrow the government.
BNP sources said party policymakers and the prime minister as well favour holding public meetings and other public campaigns to draw people's support to the four-party coalition government.
On the last day of AL's onemonth ultimatum to press for its 15-point demand, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia yesterday met her senior cabinet colleagues to review the latest situation and decided to
face AL politically.
Dhaka City BNP President and Mayor of Dhaka City Corporation Sadeque Hossain Khoka yesterday told The Daily Star that the city unit would arrange around eight public meetings and the prime minister would attend those rallies as chief guest.
He said dates of two meetings, one at Jatrabari on February 14 and the other at Lalbagh on March 6, have been finalised. Dates of other meetings at Mirpur, Bashabo, Uttara and other places would be announced soon.
"We are not sitting idle...we are fully prepared to face any threat of the movement politically. We want to face the opposition democratically because we know it well that the opposition has no solid issue to win public support to dislodge the government," Khokaadded.
PMO sources said ministers, including M Saifur Rahman, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, MK Anwar and Matiur Rahman Nizami, at yesterday's meeting with the prime minister said the government has enough time, in terms of its tenure, to ward off the opposition pressure.
They also suggested that the government should continue its appeal to the opposition to sit across the table to come back to parliament.
However, the ministers held that the government should keep the state machinery ready to face any eventualities and take appropriate measures if the opposition tries to create lawlessness.
Sources said the PM has asked the party and alliance leaders to hold rallies and processions across the country to highlight government's activities and achievements to counter the opposition demands.
When asked about AL's 15-point charter of demands, Information Minister Tariqul Islam said the government is determined to curb crime and is not at all harbouring
terror-mongers as claimed by the AL.
"The Awami League planted the seed of violence and provided state patronisation, but we are working to root out violence and nobody can say that the alliance government is patronising crime in the country," he added.
About the price hike of essentials, he said most of the essentials are within the purchasing capacity of the consumers and sometimes imported items like soybean oil prices rise due to fluctuation in international market prices.
On corruption, Tariqul said the government is going to enact a law to set up an independent anticorruption commission to deal with it. "The BNP is the first government in Bangladesh to have taken such a courageous step," he said.
About AL's threat to topple the government, Tariqul said such a threat is 'ridiculous' as the government has about three more years to complete its tenure.
"People might not accept the demand that a democratic government step down only after two years in office. Asking an elected government to resign much ahead of its tenure is undemocratic and it would weaken the democracy in Bangladesh that is only flourishing," he added.