The government has urged the political parties to take a coordinated decision on referendum issue and implementation of the July National Charter, noting that it will help the government make necessary decisions. “The Council of Advisers today urged the long-standing allied political parties of the anti-fascist movement to hold internal discussions quickly and provide unified guidance to the government within the next seven days if possible,” said Law Adviser Professor Dr Asif Nazrul on Sunday.  He was addressing a press briefing at the Karabi Hall in the Chief Adviser’s Office here after an emergency meeting of the Council of Advisers.  Asif Nazrul said the coordinated decision from the political parties will pave the way for the government to reach a decision on holding of referendum. Prof. Asif Nazrul said the meeting expressed gratitude to the National Consensus Commission and all political parties for their relentless efforts in reaching consensus on key reform issues. Besides, the discussions in the meeting focused on finalizing the July National Charter (constitutional amendment) Order as proposed by the commission, organizing a national referendum and determining the content of the referendum. The council observed that despite prolonged discussions in the Consensus Commission, differences emerged among political parties on the question of when the referendum would be held and what would be its content, he added. The law adviser also said the meeting expressed concern over the differences emerged among political parties to this end. In view of these issues, the meeting emphasized the urgent need for a final decision regarding the timeframe and subject matter of the referendum and how to address differing opinions highlighted in the July Charter, Asif Nazrul said. He said the Council of Advisers urged the long-standing allied political parties of the anti-fascist movement to hold internal discussions and provide unified guidance to the government as early as possible and if possible within the next seven days. The meeting further stressed that there is no room for delay under the current circumstances and reiterated the government's firm commitment to hold the next national parliamentary election in the first half of February 2026. Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan and Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam were present at the briefing. 

Supporters of a BNP leader have blocked the Dhaka-Bhanga Expressway after he was denied the party’s nomination for the Madaripur-1 constituency. The demonstration began around 7:30pm on Monday, said Shibchar Highway Police chief Jaharul Islam. Five BNP leaders had sought the party’s nomination for the Madaripur-1 constituency, which covers Shibchar Upazila. Earlier in the day, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the names of 237 party candidates at a press conference at the party chairperson’s political office in Gulshan. Shortly after the announcement, supporters of Sajjad Hossain Siddiqui Lavlu Chowdhury, joint convenor of Madaripur district BNP and an aspiring MP candidate, blocked the Dhaka-Bhanga Expressway to protest the decision. They set tyres ablaze and demanded the cancellation of Kamal’s nomination. Both Shibchar Highway Police and Shibchar Police later arrived at the scene and dispersed the protesters, said Jaharul, adding that traffic had since returned to normal.

India's financial crime agency has frozen 75 billion rupees ($853 million) worth of properties linked to companies of the Reliance Anil Ambani Group as part of a money-laundering probe, it said in a statement on Monday. The move relates to cases involving Reliance Communications Ltd and its affiliates over the alleged diversion of about 136 billion rupees and loans of more than $569 million taken by the group from India's YES Bank between 2017 and 2019 that the ED says were diverted and laundered. The troubled conglomerate is owned by the younger brother of billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Reliance Infrastructure, another Anil Ambani Group company, said there was no impact on its operations, shareholders and employees from the ED's action. Other group companies did not comment, while YES Bank declined to comment. AGENCY DETECTS 'FRAUDULENT DIVERSION OF PUBLIC MONEY' ED said Reliance Communications Ltd and its group companies diverted more than 136 billion rupees through loan "evergreening", a practice where new loans are given to stressed borrowers to enable them to repay existing loans. Investigators have detected the "fraudulent diversion of public money" by entities including Reliance Group-controlled companies Reliance Home Finance Ltd and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd, the ED said. These companies received over 100 billion rupees of public funds, including loans from YES Bank, through shell companies, it said. The agency also said it had blocked any transactions from taking place on residential units and land parcels across Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, including industrialist Anil Ambani's family residence in Mumbai. "ED's investigation revealed that loans taken by one entity from one bank were utilized for repayment of loans taken by other entities from other banks, transfer to related parties, and investments in mutual funds, which was in contravention to the terms and conditions of the sanction letter of the loans," the agency said. The Reliance Group entities are also accused of paying bribes to YES Bank officials before loans were disbursed, a government source had said earlier.