Jatiya Oikya Front Convener and Gano Forum President Dr Kamal Hossain hinted at mounting pressure on BNP to sever ties with its long-time ally Jamaat-e-Islami to keep the coalition united.

“I think, the BNP should be pressured to ditch Jamaat,” he said on Saturday (Jan 12) when reporters asked whether it was a mistake to forge an alliance with Jamaat.

Addressing a media call at his Motijheel offices after the party’s central committee meeting, the veteran lawyer said, “We never did politics with Jamaat in the past and that will be the case in future.”

Asked whether Gano Forum would leave Oikya Front if the BNP doesn’t shun Jamaat, he said, “Let me make it clear that we won’t be an ally of Jamaat ... We want the BNP to address the matter immediately”.

Kamal claimed that he was not aware of the BNP’s move to give its polls symbol ‘paddy sheaf’ to 22 Jamaat members before adding, “We had sought an explanation from the BNP then.”