The New Nation - Internet Edition

Chittagong Correspondent

Offices of different political parties especially the two archrivals - the Awami League and the BNP - in the city turned the points of reunion of leaders and workers after a long pause of no politics.

Several hundred workers and the leaders of both camps, though not the top ones, started gathering the office premises after 'indoor-politics has been made valid.

Leaders welcomed the government's move to make 'indoor politics' free and demanded immediate lifting of emergency for creating environment of holding a free, fair and credible election.

Cleaners were engaged for making the office and its furniture fit for routine use apart from necessary renovation and changes in the wake of vacuum of leadership.

Offices of the Awami League, BNP, Jamat-e-Islami, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Jatiya Party (Ershad) opened their respective offices and held opinion exchange meetings, milad mahfil and offered special prayer for quick freeing of their detained leaders and workers.

The Awami League leaders claimed that the city office of the party located at Darul Fazal market was opened at about 11:00 a.m. Alhaj Nurul Islam, Kazi Enamul Haque Danu, Dr. Afsarul Amin, Advocate Ibrahim Hossain Babul and Advocate Sheikh Iftekhar Saimul Chowdhury were among others who led the reopening of the party office.

Later, they held a meeting in the evening. The AL leader Alhaj Nurul Islam presided over the meeting. A milad mahfil was also held there. The BNP leader Dr. Sahadat Hossain together with the office caretaker Nur Hossain opened its Nasiman Bhaban office at about 10:00 a.m. None of the BNP bigwigs - Abdullah Al Noman, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Sayed Wahidul Alam and M Morshed Khan - was seen at the party office.

Later, a good number the BNP workers including Ershad Ullah, ward commissioner Shamsul Alam, Abdus Sattar and Mohammad Nazim Uddin rushed the party office in the afternoon.

Joint Secretary of city unit of the AL Advocate Ibrahim Hossain Babul said that ban on politics should be lifted right now.

General Secretary of AL, north MA Salam said that it was not a wise decision of partial and conditional freeing of politics. "We demand immediate withdrawal of ban on politics," he added.

Former Joint Secretary of city unit of the BNP Abdus Sattar said that they would establish contacts with their leaders and workers in the grassroots from now on wards and urged the caretaker government for unconditional freeing of politics.

General Secretary of Bangladesh Communist Party, Chittagong district, Shah Alam also demanded free environment of politics.