The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Defending state of emergency, Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad yesterday said the emergency won't be a barrier to holding the national election as the just concluded elections to four city corporations and nine municipalities were held smoothly.

He said many political parties demanded lifting of emergency before holding the upcoming parliamentary elections. "But Jatiya Party made no such demand, as I think emergency will not create any bar to holding the national election. Rather, it will have a supportive role."

Speaking at the party's extended meeting at the Diploma Engineers Institute in the city, the former President said the voters had cast their votes in the just completed local body elections without any fear.

He said in the last 15 years, no election was held so peacefully and neutrally in the country as the elections to the four city corporations and nine municipalities.

"If the government thinks, the country is entirely under its control, they can lift the emergency."

Ershad demanded upazila elections before the parliamentary elections, saying that it is the brainchild of his Jatiya Party, which introduced the upazila system.

Calling the tenure of the immediate past government as a black chapter in the country's history, he said they had joined the 14-party grand alliance to save the country from the hands of corrupt suspects and terrorists.

"We're still in the grand alliance as it has not been disbanded yet. The grand alliance can again be reactivated before the (national) election," he said.

The Jatiya Party chairman said if they could go to the state power again, they would run the country dividing it into eight provinces under a federal system. "It is impossible to run the country of 15 crore people under a unitary government."

He said the main challenge of the present non-political government is to hold free, fair and neutral general election. The election must also be free from the influences of the corrupt suspects, terrorists and black money holders, as it is the spirit of 1/11.

Mentioning various development works during his 9-year rule, Ershad said the country strayed from the mainstream of development as the previous governments had failed to follow-up with the developments that had occurred under him.

Jatiya Party leaders Begum Roushan Ershad, Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud, Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Ruhul Amin Hawlader and Zahirul Islam were, among others, present at the meeting.