The government is still non-responsive to a 30-day AL ultimatum to meet a 15-point demand and the main opposition party is planning to go for the movement after its February 12 hartal.

But many AL lawmakers feared that the party rank and file would find it difficult to 'politically survive' throughout a protracted anti-government movement starting even before the BNP-led alliance government completes half of its five-year tenure.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an AL legislator said, "People of my constituency asked me whether we have left the 8th parliament once for all. Party workers fear that a premature launch of quit-power movement will rather lead to more troubles and the government might implicate them in false cases just to harass them."

A central leader of the party said many MPs and leaders want the party policymakers to rethink about continuous parliament boycott.

AL chief Sheikh Hasina got similar indications at some programmes exchanging views with different professional bodies in recent weeks, sources pointed out.

Some of the party lawmakers thought it would be better for the party leadership to convene a meeting of the AL Parliamentary Party (ALPP) to assess their opinion about parliament boycott.

No meeting of the AL Parliamentary Party (ALPP) was convened in recent months although the MPs were willing to give their views on the recent government move to increase the number of Jatiya Sangsad seats to 450 from 300 with 50 reserved seats for women.

The party rejected the move without giving its lawmakers any scope to express their views on the issue.

The AL refrained from joining the present Jatiya Sangsad from the day it first met on October 28, 2001. The party joined parliament in its fourth session on June 24, 2002 and again started boycotting the House from the 8th session on June 25 last year.

The party skipped all the sittings of the 9th, 10th and the current 11th session of parliament on various demands.

Political analysts think if the AL remains firm on parliament boycott, it will be a repeat of 'parliament-without-opposition' as during 1991-96 and 1996-2001. Despite the transition to a democratic order after Ershad's autocratic rule, both the fifth and seventh parliaments passed almost half of their tenures with the opposition staying away.

About MPs' views on crucial issues like parliament boycott and anti-government movement, AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil told The Daily Star, "MPs are not above the party. Everyone including the lawmakers should abide by whatever the party decides."

A defiant Jalil said if the government paid no heed to AL's 15-point demand and 30-day ultimatum, the party would certainly go for a quit-power movement.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition Abdul Hamid, however, told this correspondent if needed, the party would convene a meeting of the ALPP during the current session of parliament.

On the party workers' fear of being implicated in false cases if an oust-government movement is launched, Hamid said, "We will deal with the situation accordingly."