Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Sunday said the government will only consider dialogue with BNP if and when the party withdraws its conditions.
"BNP says they want the PM's resignation, the parliament's dissolution, a caretaker government and the cancellation of the Election Commission. We will think of dialogue [with BNP] only if they withdraw their conditions,” Quader said. “We don't care about any conditional dialogue," he said while talking to reports at the secretariat.
Earlier, the US pre-election observation team published a statement calling for “good faith dialogue” among the political parties to end the political stand-off ahead of the upcoming general election.
“The best way to end the stalemate is through good faith dialogue, in the run-up to the January 2024 elections and beyond,” said Karl F. Inderfurth (NDI Co-Chair).
Also read: Moderate rhetoric, engage in open dialogue on key election issues: IRI-NDI delegation
In response to a question regarding the statement, Quader said, “They (US pre-election assessment team) have not discussed anything regarding dialogue [with other political parties] with us. We spoke to them and briefed the journalists. Journalists also asked questions. They didn't say anything about the dialogue. Now if they think [dialogue is necessary] it's up to them.”
On possible dialogue with the BNP, Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said the government is not the reason behind the conflict with the BNP.
Also read: It is not AL's responsibility to bring BNP to polls: Tajul Islam
He reiterated that the upcoming election will be held as per the constitution.
“We will hold the election in accordance with the constitution. We will hold elections the way elections are held in other democratic countries of the world,” Quader said.