BNP will propose interim govt head if president asks, says Mirza Fakhrul
Staff Correspondent
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said the party will propose a name for the interim government head if President Mohammed Shahabuddin asks for their suggestion following a power shift.
He avoided a direct answer regarding the proposal by the student movement coordinators that Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus be made chief advisor to the interim administration.
Fakhrul emphasised the importance of considering opinions from all political parties during a press conference after BNP's Standing Committee meeting at the chairperson's Gulshan office on Tuesday.
"We are not in a position to support anyone right now. If the president asks us to suggest a name for the interim head of government, we will do so.
“The president, as the constitutional head of state, has the sole authority to make these decisions," he said.
"However, I want to make it clear that we have full confidence in the students and stand in solidarity with their movement. The views of all parties must be given significant consideration in this matter," he added. Responding to a query, Fakhrul said the BNP has not yet decided on any name for the interim government head.
He outlined the party's stance on the interim government framework during the meeting.
On Monday night, the Anti-discrimination Student Movement proposed Yunus as the head of the interim government, a suggestion Yunus has accepted. In the aftermath of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation and departure from the country following 15 years in power, Fakhrul, along with other opposition leaders, met the chiefs of the armed forces at Bangabhaban on Monday night.
During the press conference, Fakhrul urged the president to dissolve the current parliament and form an interim government by Tuesday.
Within an hour of the press conference, President Shahabuddin issued a statement announcing the dissolution of the 12th National Parliament.
The president's office also confirmed the release of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and the commencement of the release of detainees involved in the movement from Jul 1 to Aug 5.
