The decision came from a joint meeting of the main opposition Awami League, left-leaning 11-party alliance, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal led by Hasanul Haq Inu and National Awami Party with Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina in the chair at her Dhanmondi residence, Sudha Sadan.

The meeting resolved that neutral and fair investigation into the August 21 deadly grenade and gun attack on Hasina and the AL rally would not be possible with the present government remaining in power.

Rejecting the prime minister's call for a dialogue with all political parties, the joint opposition meeting also decided to announce an oust-government movement within this week.

"From today, we have decided to move unitedly to unseat the terrorist, communal and fanatic government of Khaleda-Nizami," Hasina told reporters after the over two-hour meeting.

Quoting the meeting discussions, she said, "Eviction of the alliance government is the only way left to save the country and its people, and to uphold spirit of the Liberation War."

A meeting source said key leaders of the parties would meet within a couple of days to finalise strategies of the oust-government movement and the programmes are likely to be announced jointly within this week. Yesterday's meeting tasked AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil with co-ordinating the joint meetings of the parties.

Opposition leaders hinted that to begin with the oust-government movement would have slow-pace programmes to gear up their party networks and activities across the country, which would gradually become more and more intense, tough and vigorous to force the government to step down.

"This is the beginning of forging an broad-based alliance of progressive political parties," a top AL leader said seeking anonymity. "From now on we will announce programmes jointly and observe those simultaneously," he said. Besides, every party will also enforce their own programmes, he added.

The united opposition movement to topple the government comes in the 35th month into the BNP-Jamaat-led four-party coalition's coming to office for a five-year term until October 2006.

The parties arrived at the consensus on the one-point demand last night after a series of dialogues among themselves in the last two years, with the August 21 grenade attack accelerating the unity process and dissipating all confusions on joining hands to eject the government.

The meeting rejected the government-run investigations into the deadly grenade attacks on AL rally saying these would never be impartial. "None of the investigations into the previous bomb blasts including the attack on the British high commissioner to Bangladesh was completed neutrally," said Hasina.

"It is also for the interest of an impartial and fair investigation into the grenade attack that there is no alternative but to oust the government," she emphasised.

Last night's joint opposition meeting was of the opinion that the present government has been patronising fundamentalism in the country and was involved in subversive activities.

The meeting urged all classes and professional bodies, irrespective of political choices, to join hands in the oust-government movement.

At the beginning of the meeting, the AL general secretary in his inaugural speech described the latest political situation in the country, while other leaders participating in the discussion affirmed that there is no alternative but to force the government to resign.

Communist Party of Bangladesh President Manzurul Ahsan Khan said, despite a few differences on other issues, all of them decided unanimously to remove the oppressive government of BNP-Jamaat alliance.

JSD President Hasanul Haq Inu said, "From this instant, we have launched the movement to topple the government of Khaleda and Nizami."

Echoing the same, Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon said the united movement would continue until the fall of the government.

Meanwhile, seven youth organisations including Jubo League, Jobo Union, Jubo Maitree and Jubo Gono Forum yesterday at a meeting decided to launch united movement against the government.

The organisations formed a draft committee to fix anti-government programmes and decided to bring out mourning processions across the country on September 4 to commemorate the people killed in the August 21 massacre.