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“The interim government is supposed to hold the national election, not the local government polls,” said a standing committee member.

The party also discussed the government’s decision to raise VAT and supplementary duties on over 100 goods and services midway through the fiscal year.

During the meeting, BNP leaders expressed frustration over the tax increase, arguing that no elected government would implement measures that exacerbate public sufferings.

They criticised the hikes in VAT and other taxes, particularly on goods and services integral to daily life and public welfare.

Contacted, Abdul Moyeen Khan, standing committee member of the party, said, “Shall I be wrong if I say that the IMF became a collaborator of the fascist Awami League regime and shored up their collapsing economy by providing a $4.7 billion loan to sustain an illegitimate government?

“Moreover, will it be an overstatement if I ask that are they not planning now to destroy this interim government by forcing them to take an anti-people as well as an illegal economic measure to make them unpopular and lead the country to another mess by misleading this government on the pretext of stabilising the country’s financial platform?”

Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir called a press conference at the BNP chief’s political office in Gulshan today to discuss the outcomes of the meeting.

The meeting also reviewed the treatment and health condition of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, who is undergoing treatment in the UK.

Party leaders expressed gratitude for her gradual recovery. Some leaders noted that her improving health is positive news for the party, adding that she is in good spirits and spending quality time with her family at the hospital.

Khaleda was admitted to the London Clinic on January 8.