Dhaka, Nov. 14 -- The July National Charter has laid bare deep rifts among Bangladesh's parties even as Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus tries a middle course, which is holding the referendum and the parliamentary election on the same day in February.

On timing, the camps are split. Jamaat-e-Islami, backed by six other religion-based parties, had demanded a referendum before the general election during street protests.

The BNP, in February, insisted the implementation order must preserve parties' "notes of dissent" on Charter proposals.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) pressed for Yunus, not the president, to issue the order, citing his authority as head of the interim government.

Yunus's nationwide address on Thursday unveiled the compro...