"If they [the ruling party] give a specific proposal for talks over telephone, I will discuss it with my party chief and my colleagues at the party and the alliance to decide in this regard," AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil told newsmen at his Mercantile Bank office yesterday.

BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan told reporters on Monday that he already had telephone conversations with Jalil about the talks and that was his formal response to the opposition's call for a ruling party initiative for negotiation.

"If necessary, I will call him [Jalil] again," Bhuiyan had said adding that now there should be no need for a formal letter.

Jalil, also coordinator of the AL led 14-party opposition combine, said the government would have to give a specific proposal for dialogue over telephone. "Any dialogue with the BNP must settle who would be the chief adviser to the caretaker government and the chief election commissioner (CEC) instead of Justice KM Hasan and Justice MA Aziz." Jalil observed.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina in an interview with the BBC radio yesterday said the initiative for dialogue must come from the government side. "I will sit with my party and alliance leaders to decide what we should do," she added.

Workers' Party President Rashed Khan Menon said a dialogue should take place immediately. "But it is not necessary to talk about technical points," Menon, a senior opposition leader, told The Daily Star last night. If Bhuiyan can give Jalil a call, then why can he not send a formal letter, he asked.

The possibility for dialogue came after Bhuiyan said there was no need to send letters inviting the opposition to the negotiating table as he had talked to Jalil over telephone twice in this regard.

Admitting Bhuiyan's making the phone calls to him, Jalil told reporters, "We can discuss a range of issues as lawmakers."

He claimed the dialogue issue did not come up during the telephone conversations.

Over Bhuiyan's view that there is no need to send a letter inviting the opposition to the talks, Jalil said it would be better if they [BNP] respond to our last letter, as the BNP started the culture of sending letters and they have to end this culture, Jalil added.

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Haque Inu said the prime minister and the BNP secretary general would have to settle the issue before the talks. Prime minister has to realise that reforms are necessary, otherwise secretary general-level talks would bring no result, Inu told The Daily Star last night.

Earlier the possibility of dialogue stuck even after exchanging eight letters between Bhuiyan and Jalil from March 20 to April 29 on inclusion of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Oikya Jote in the proposed dialogue committee.

At the beginning of its campaign for electoral reforms, the AL had asked the BNP to hold a dialogue between them, but the ruling party did not agree to hold any talks without its coalition partners earlier.

The BNP secretary general made the first phone call to Jalil on August 20, asking for a dialogue between them.

Finally, the prime minister spoke of the secretaries-general level dialogue on September 13 at a rally in Brahmanbaria.

The AL had termed her offer a 'meeting speech'. It had also declared that if the reforms are not carried out, the opposition parties will resist Justice KM Hasan's taking over as the chief of the caretaker government from the day the interim government would take charge.

HASINA’S BBC INTERVIEW
Sheikh Hasina alleged that the government has been plotting so that no opposition party takes part in the upcoming parliamentary election.

During an interview with the BBC Bangla Service yesterday Hasina said they want the talks to put an end to the political crisis. "But the government has been creating obstacles to prevent the main opposition party from taking part in the election," she accused.

The AL chief said the initiative must come from the government. "I will sit with my party and alliance leaders to decide what we can do under the circumstances," Hasina said adding, "If they [the ruling party] sit for discussions, they have to meet some of our demands. They are hatching a fresh conspiracy, as they do not want to accept any of our demands."

Asked what would the 14-party do if the problems were not solved through discussions,

Hasina said, "If they (the government) do not accept anything, I will urge the people to come to Dhaka with whatever they have and to do everything necessary so that the government is forced to accept the demands."

About the government's allegation that the AL is pushing the country into a confrontational situation, Hasina asked whether the people have their right to come to Dhaka or not? The AL chief said the people will come to Dhaka to protect their rights.

She said the present government instead of the caretaker government have to implement the electoral reforms to solve the crisis.

On the government's allegation that AL does not want to participate in the next election, Hasina said the government knows very well that the people will not vote for the ruling alliance candidates and it will not come back to power if a free, fair, and neutral election is held in the country.

"So, the government has been looking for excuses so that no one can participate in the election," she said adding, "Well, let them implement our reform proposals and then they will see whether we participate in the election or not."

"If an election is to be held in the country, it must be free and fair after implementing our reform proposals," Hasina reiterated.