It seems to us that there are two very potent reasons why the opposition must now rejoin parliament. The first is their demand for early polls. If this is the position of the opposition, then they have a duty to take issue with the ruling party. And what could be the best forum to do it than the people's parliament? Perhaps if they were to argue their case in parliament we could judge for ourselves the merits of the matter. As it is, the opposition has been unable to persuasively articulate a reason for their stance to the voters.

The second reason is the recent arms haul in Chittagong. Given the discovery of the vast cache of weapons, it is not too much to say that we have entered into a new and uncertain phase when it comes to matters of national security and political stability. In such a climate, the role of the opposition in parliament is even more crucial. It is now, more than ever, the duty of the opposition to enter parliament to fulfill its role in getting to the bottom of this incident.

Indeed, three SAARC countries, India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, are now battling insurgencies, and we owe it to them as well, as a member of the SAARC community ourselves, to investigate the matter thoroughly and come up with answers.

None of these important issues that are before us today can be adequately addressed outside parliament. The opposition is free to continue its programme of mobilisation and education of the masses to gain support (such as human chains, public meetings, etc though we maintain our longstanding position against hartals), but at the same time it should pursue a parliamentary strategy as well. The AL owes this much to the people, the outside world, and, ultimately, itself.