BNP's black-flag procession illegal: Quader

BNP's black-flag procession is illegal, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said today.

"There is no scope for a freestyle programme without prior permission. There is no reason to think that we will sit idle when they [BNP] take out freestyle events on the streets without taking any permission," said Quader.

Quader, also road transport and bridges minister, was addressing a press briefing at the AL president's political office in the capital's Dhanmondi.

In response to the US observation of the recently concluded 12th parliamentary elections, he said, "US Ambassador Peter Haas congratulated the prime minister after the election and held talks with multiple ministers. He even attended the maiden session of the 12th National Parliament yesterday.

"The United States did not say that the election was flawed, instead the country has expressed its interest to work with us," the AL leader said.

Quader added that the AL will give special emphasis to the leaders who have been tested and stood out as dedicated while nominating Members of Parliament (MPs) for the women's reserved seats.

"The number of leaders who can be nominated is much less compared to the number of nomination seekers. We will give preference to those who are time-tested friends," he said.

He also said that AL will nominate 47-48 candidates, including 38 of its leaders and 10 independent leaders, for the women reserved seats.

Awami League Organising Secretary BM Mozammel Haque, SM Kamal Hossain, Mirza Azam, Sujit Roy Nandi, and Office Secretary Biplab Barua were present at the briefing.