Dhaka, Oct 09: Senior leaders of main opposition Awami League and the speaker of Bangladesh parliament have separately called on Lok Sabha speaker Monohar Joshi, now in Bangladesh in connection with the 49th conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). A four-member delegation of al leaders led by Abdus Samad Azad met Joshi, who arrived here yesterday, and explained to him the reasons for the party's boycott of CPA conference.
They alleged that the ruling BNP-led alliance has politicised the conference, mass circulated vernacular daily the Ittefaq reported today. This is for the first time a CPA conference is being held without the participation of main opposition party of the host country.
Speaker of Bangladesh 'Jatiya Sangsad' (national parliament), who is also the chairman of CPA conference, separately called on Joshi.
Meanwhile, after a day's break, the conference returned to business today with the holding of a number of workshops on a wide range of issues.
The nine-day conference, that was opened by Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia on October 04, concludes Sunday.
Beside the Lok Sabha Speaker, speakers of a few state assemblies including West Bengal, Maharashta and Kerala are attending the conference.
Bureau Report