They are trying to use the religious sentiment for political gains, she said, asserting that "people of Bangladesh are not communal".

The prime minister made the observations while exchanging views with the members of Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Kalyan Front yesterday.

Referring to the recent incident of bomb attack, Khaleda said those who do not want progress of the country are responsible for letting loose anarchy in a planned way. "The vested quarter is trying to hinder the development process when every factor is in favour."

She also assured that there was no dearth of sincerity of the government in maintaining law and order, and mentioned the invitation to the Interpol and the formation of the judicial inquiry commission to probe the bomb blasts.

The 40-member delegation of the front was led by its convenor State Minister for Water Resources Advocate Gautam Chakraborty.

The prime minister called upon people of all religions to work unitedly for progress of the country.

State Minister for Religious Affairs Mosharraf Hossain Shahjahan and Joint Convenor of the front Dr Paresh Chandra Mondol also spoke.

Conveying greetings on the occasion of Janmastami, to be observed tomorrow, the front leaders thanked the prime minister for giving permission for worship at Ramna Kali Mandir.

The leaders expressed their happiness over the initiative to establish a Christian Welfare Trust and recalled that the allocation of Tk 3 crore for the Buddhist Welfare Trust last year spurred the activities of the organisation.

Earlier, members of the Janmastami Udjapan Parishad (Janmastami Observation Council) led by its leaders Ranjit Kumar Chakraborty, Sukumar Chakraborty and Sujit Kanti Dutta met the prime minister and invited her to the festival.