Policy Summit of the Govt.

Policy Summit of the Govt.

Government Mulling Policy Summit of Politicians

The caretaker government will organize a policy summit with the top political leaders of the country on three cardinal issues:
1. Investment Growth
2. Administrative Reforms
3. Education

In the run-up to the December polls, the proposed summit will take place in the later part of November.
On September 17 Commerce Advisor Hossain Zillur Rahman unveiled the plan of the caretaker government. Following the 1/11 changeover amid a political crisis over election issue, the present caretaker government has done massive reforms that will need ratification.
He, however, said the government will not provide any guideline on the issues. Rather, the government will expect political parties to share their views on the issues in the summit meet so that the next elected government could easily deal with the matters.
“Actually our plan is to engage the top political leaders in the summit so that they could give the guidelines for the next government. Next elected government will have to face a lot of challenges, particularly in dealing with investment, administrative reforms and education. We want to leave the things forward for the next government,” Zillur Rahman told reporters after a meeting on Chittagong regional development at the commerce ministry.

Criticism

Leaders of major political parties including BNP, Jatiya Party (JP), Jamaat-e-Islami, Workers Party of Bangladesh and Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) rejected the government proposed policy summit.
Awami League (AL) welcomed the move but cast doubt on the success of the summit likrly to be held only a month before the December national polls. AL acting president Zillur Rahman said his party might boycott the summit if Jamaat attends it. The AL leader said those in a meeting with former AL lawmaker Ali Reza Raju at his Gulshan home in the capital.
AL presidium member Tofail Ahmed, however, termed the idea of policy summit impractical. The government should not do any more experiment as the national election is scheduled for December, he said. An elected government should decide how the country would be run after the election, he added.
MK Anwar, BNP vice president, said that the government should not go for any further ‘adventure’. “It is the elected party or the alliance, who will determine how the country will run,” he said, adding that every party has their own policies on how they will run the country once they assume power.
JP acting Chairman Anisul Islam Mahmud said, “Of course there could be a discussion among political parties but there is no environment to hold such summit ahead of the parliamentary polls. The parliament should decide on the matter in parliament through discussion, not the caretaker government.”
Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon said the caretaker government is not supposed to organize this kind of summit. “Every day they are talking about new ideas and plans which are beyond their jurisdiction and the policy summit is their latest idea,” he said.
CPB President manjurul Ahsan Khan termed the government’s plan a new conspiracy to stay in power for longer.
JP (Manju) Secretary General Sheikh Shahidul Islam in a statement termed the government plan irrational and asked the government to concentrate on holding a free, fare and credible national election.
Jamaat Senior Assistant Secretary General Muhammad Qamaruzzaman said, “The caretaker government is not a position to carry the load of organizing this kind of summit. Even the agenda of the policy summit is not clear.” He, however, said they are not against the holding this kind of summit.
Meanwhile, AL acting President Zillur Rahman welcomed the initiatives of barrister Rafique-ul-Haque, who defended former premiers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia in court, to persuade the two leaders to sit together.
The final decision on the matter would be made after Hasina’s return from the US, he said.