"The government is threatening us with the arrest of party chief HM Ershad in graft cases he is now facing if we join hands with the agitating opposition," said a presidium member of the party, requesting anonymity.

"The government wants the Jatiya Party in parliament to show that the Jatiya Sangsad is functioning with the participation of opposition amid boycott by the Awami League."

At a press briefing yesterday, JP chief Ershad alleged that the government distorted information about its parliamentary delegation's meeting with the prime minister under the leadership of Raushan Ershad on Thursday.

After the meeting a government spokesman claimed that the JP legislators assured the government of their "full cooperation" in consolidating parliamentary democracy.

"The government version on Thursday's meeting is nothing but distortion of facts. The government described the meeting as it wished," Ershad, a former military ruler, said.

JP lawmakers said they met the premier to air their grievances on the basis of an understanding reached with BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan before they withdrew their parliament boycott in February.

Ershad said: "The Jatiya Party will not allow any organisation to use it as their launch pad to form government."

He accused the ruling coalition of failing to deliver, adding, "The situation is not good, people are not happy with this government."

He demanded an immediate investigation into the country's largest ever arms seizure on the Kharnaphuli coast in Chittagong early Friday.

"The country is heading towards a civil war," he remarked.

Ershad will visit China from April 10 to April 18 at the invitation of the Chinese government.