The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia yesterday demanded of the government to implement its seven-point demand for holding free and fair election in the country.

“We want go to the polls if the caretaker government meet our demands and create level playing field,” she said at a mammoth rally at the historic Laldighi Maidan in the port city Chittagong that was organised by local BNP.

Begum Zia arrived at the Maidan at 4pm after driving to the port city at 1:45pm amid crowd cheering greeting her.

The rally formally started at 3pm. Chittagong city BNP convenor and former Member of Parliament Syed Wahidul Alam presided over the rally.

Joint Secretaries general Abdullah Al Mamun and Goyasher Chandra Roy, Salauddin Quader Chowdury, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Brigadier (Retd) ASM Hannan Shah, Rabeya Chowdhury, Mohammad Shahjahan, Golam Akbar Khandaker, Barkat Ullah Bulu, Begum Rosy Kabir, Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury, Shahjahan Chowdhury, Jafarul Islam Chowdhury, Sarwar Jamal Nizam, Gazi Mohammed Shahjahan Jewel, Mostafa Kamal Pasha, Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee, Ahmed Khalil Khan, Azizul Bari Helal and Saiful Bari Babu of BNP and Shamsul Islam, city ameer of Jamaat, singer Asif among others, spoke on the occasion.

Sharply criticising the role of the caretaker government, Begum Zia said that it could do nothing other than wasting time and mounting sufferings of common people over the last couple of years.

“We went backward at least 20 years within only last two years and time has come to get united again to restore democracy through movement,” she added.

BNP Chairperson urged the government to accept their demands immediately and hold election for transferring power to an elected government for protecting the country’s independence and sovereignty.

“We want to go to polls but a congenial atmosphere is yet to create. An environment congenial to a fair election would be created if our seven-point demand are met,” said Khaleda Zia in her first public meeting since the easing of emergency rules on political activities.

She said the government has met all the demands of the others except BNP’s.

“They (government) claimed that they had accepted all our demands but there is no sign of implementation,” she mentioned.

She demanded implementation of BNP’s seven- point demand including complete of lifting the sate of emergency, cancelling provisions of the Representation of the People’s Order (RPO) and release of the detained leaders of the party.

The BNP Chairperson alleged that the government has not created a level playing field for all political parties expected to participate in the election.

“The government has created level playing field for one party and uneven field for BNP,” she added. She said that although leaders of a particular party were released but about 40 senior leaders of BNP are still under detention.

“I was confined to the special jail for one year. I don’t know why I was kept detained,” said the former prime minister.

She accused the caretaker government of crushing the people’s political rights.

The government wants to go for selection in the name of election by keeping the state of emergency in force.

Criticising the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) for urging the district commissioners to hold an election like that of 1970, She said, free and fair election is not be possible under the present Election Commission (EC).

Begum Zia in her 35- minute speech claimed that the EC did not keep word what it promised with the BNP and its allies.

She said the people of the country started casting doubts on the present EC.

The BNP chief said she had done no injustice while in office. But she said the government had converted the country into a mass-jail by picking up her party’s innocent leaders and activists.

“I had been detained in jail for nearly one- year and my family has deliberately been destroyed, even my two son’s have been disabled,” she mentioned adding that she did not make any comprise with the government even in the face of torture.

“I was born in Bangladesh and would die in the country and never leave my country,” she said adding that she could not leave the country in her own interest by keeping the people in danger.

“No matter how much conspiracy is webbed, you know what is true and what is false,” she mentioned.

She said, internal and external forces were making conspiracies to plunder the country’s mineral resources to turn it to a nation without backbone.

She called upon all to resist all conspiracies by uniting themselves for saving the country and democracy.

Justifying her innocence and wrongful arrest she said that she had not committed any crime and finally been released by the order of the country’s High Court.

Referring to Sheikh Hasina’s remarks that the election must be held on December 18 no matter who comes or not, Begum Zia questioned why they (Awami League) had jeopardised the elections on January 22 in 2007 by creating anarchy and chaos with oar and pole (logi- baitha) that virtually collapsed the country.

“We will take a set of measures if voted to power,” she pledge.

Earlier Begum Zia directly went to the circuit house for rest and refreshments and later exchanged views with the local BNP leaders on a number of issues.

It is her first visit to Chittagong since the current military-installed interim government took power and her release on bail from detention on a slew of graft charges.

The convoy of Begum Zia from the capital to the port city passed through the cheering crowds holding banners and festoons at Siddhirgonj, Kanchpur bridge intersection, Meghna bridge, Daudkandi, Gouripur, Ilyotgonj, Chandina, Nimsar Bazaar and Moynamoti along the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.