The Awami League-led alliance on Sunday decided that dialogues could be held with the opposition on the issue of an election-time interim government but ruled out any talks on restoration of the caretaker government system.
The alliance leaders said there was still room for discussions with the opposition on the form of the proposed interim government.
Briefing media after a meeting in the city, they said that the alliance had decided to continue discussions within the platform on a framework for an interim government to supervise the next general election.
Two top leaders of the ruling alliance, who attended the meeting at the AL president’s office at Dhanmondi, told New Age that they would sit with prime minister Sheikh Hasina to discuss the form of the proposed interim government.
Allies of the Awami League also expressed their concern over the disappearance of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party organising secretary Ilias Ali and murders of journalist couple Sagar and Runi and called upon the government to take immediate steps to unearth the mysteries.
At the press conference, Workers’ Party president Rashed Khan Menon said, ‘We have discussed the issue of an interim government in the meeting...We will now discuss its framework...Once it is finalised, we hope we will find a solution...’
‘If BNP has any specific proposal, they should come up with it and things could be settled through discussions…We want everybody to take part in the next general election,’ Menon said.
He ruled out any chances for restoration of the provision for the caretaker government as it had already been declared void by the Supreme Court.
Awami League general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said the ruling alliance had come up with the idea of an interim government. ‘If any quarter has an alternative proposal, we are ready for discussion.’  
‘The door for dialogue is always open. Conflict is inevitable if the door for discussions closes,’ said Syed Ashraful Islam, also LGRD and cooperatives minister, when asked whether the ruling party would invite the opposition for a dialogue.
‘The caretaker government system has been scrapped in line with an apex court verdict. There is no scope for restoring the system. Dialogues could be held on formation of an interim government’, Ashraful said.
Meeting sources said Rashed Khan Menon had raised the issue of the election-time interim government and said it should be discussed as soon as possible to break the deadlock.
‘The form of the interim government must be worked out through discussions among the political parties, which would reflect the aspirations of the people,’ Menon said at the meeting.
Ashraful Islam said the alliance leaders could sit with the prime minister to discuss the issue and the meeting decided to hold a meeting with Hasina on the framework of the proposed interim government.
Menon told New Age that he had raised the issue of the interim government in the meeting.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal general secretary Sharif Nurul Ambia told New Age that the alliance had ruled out any possibility of restoration of the caretaker government system as the Supreme Court had declared the provision void.
Left-leaning components of the alliance also censured the government over various issues like low price of paddy and jute, fertiliser price hike, attitude of lawmakers, power crisis, price hike of essential commodities and law and order slide.
Ashraful at the briefing said the alliance leaders had expressed their concern over low price of paddy and rice and urged government to take necessary steps to keep the fertiliser price in control.
He said the leaders had urged the government to take steps to improve law and order and foil the ‘conspiracies’ to stoke up unrest in the garment sector.
In the meeting, Ganatantri Party general secretary Nurur Rahman Selim criticised ministers for making sweeping comments on different issues which, he said, was tarnishing the image of the government.
The meeting, held amid a standoff between the government and the opposition over the caretaker issue, also reviewed the recent political events. They decided that they would jointly face up to the opposition’s street agitations. 
Over two-and-half-hour long meeting was chaired by the alliance coordinator Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, also deputy leader of the house.
Among others, AL advisory council members Amir Hossain Amu, Abdul Jalil, Suranjit Sengupta, presidium members Latif Siddiqui and Kazi Zafarullah, Workers Party general secretary Anisur Rahman Mollik and politburo member Quamrul Ahsan, Gana Azadi League president Abdus Samad, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal general secretary Sharif Nurul Ambia, Ganatantry Party general secretary Nurur Rahman Selim, National Awami Party general secretary Enamul Haque, Samyabadi Dal politburo member Abu Hamed Shahabuddin and Communist Kendra leader Wajed-ul Islam Khan attended the meeting.