PM discusses intra-BNP rift with cabinet bigwigs
Staff Correspondent
Prime Minister Khaleda Zia yesterday had an extensive discussion with four of her senior cabinet colleagues on the country's latest political and economic situation including increasing factional conflicts in the ruling BNP, preparation of a new voter list and price hike of essentials.The issue of Law Minister Moudud Ahmed's role in awarding presidential amnesty to a BNP leader convicted of murder also came up in the meeting. The ruling coalition top leaders also conferred on the campaign of some Islamist political groups against Jamaat-e-Islami, timely implementation of development programmes, and quick approval and release of funds for projects in line with their 2001 election commitments. Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman, LGRD Minister and BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, Health Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, and Industries Minister and Jamaat Ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami attended the meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office. The PM expressed ire at the rising frequency of intra-party conflicts in different parts of the country, particularly in Sylhet, and asked Saifur Rahman and Mannan Bhuiyan to contain the trend immediately, meeting sources said. Earlier in the day, BNP lawmakers from Sylhet Ilias Ali, Syed Makbul Hossain and Shafi Ahmed Chowdhury, known as the 'anti-Saifur clique, met Mannan Bhuiyan and lodged some allegations against Saifur and his supporters. Saifur apprised the PM of the factors leading to the dissolution of Sylhet District BNP convening committee. Khaleda directed Saifur and Mannan Bhuiyan to form a new, full-fledged district committee of BNP through holding a conference the soonest possible. She advised Nizami to sit in parleys with the Islamist groups and make them stop campaigning against Jamaat, which has been affecting the image of the 4-party ruling alliance. The prime minister also asked the Jamaat chief to take steps to stop conflicts between Islami Chhatra Shibir and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wings of Jamaat and the BNP. The core government policymakers underscored timely implementation of development projects and taking up fresh projects in line with the coalition's election pledges. The premier told the finance minister to instruct the authorities concerned to speed up project approval and fund disbursement. She reminded her colleagues that all pending government programmes must be completed before the coalition's tenure ends after a little more than one year. The meeting decided to ask the Election Commission to immediately start preparing a new voter list. It also deliberated on the price spiral of essentials and resolved to take steps to halt it.
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