The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

BNP Secretary General Khondker Delwar Hossain said yesterday the people and the Four-party alliance would not allow any farcical parliamentary elections in the country on December 18.

"Create a level playing field for holding free, fair and credible polls and hand over power to the democratically elected government," he said as chief guest at a protest rally at the Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) at Kakrail in the city.

The BNP-led four-party alliance organised countrywide protest rallies across the country in protest against the attack on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami activists on Tuesday and immediate release of detained alliance leaders.

Reiterating the seven-point demand,Delwar said during dialogue the Government has agreed in principle to realise most of the demands and so far their (government) words did not match with the action.

" Realise our demands and create favourable atmosphere for free and fair election so that we could participate in it," he added.

He said the people of the country would not accept farcical polls rather they would boycott and resist it.

"We would not accept rubber stamp parliament and puppet government," he mentioned.

Khandker Delwar said the Four-party alliance was even ready to accept the election results if it was held free from influence and neutral manner. He urged the government to withdraw the state of emergency.

"Under the state of emergency elections could not be held in neutral manner," he added.

Criticising the arrest of top leaders of the alliance, the Secretary General of BNP said the government was harassing our leaders by using Emergency Power Rules (RPR). He urged the government to withdraw the sate of emergency without further delay.

Criticising the Election Commission (EC) for not giving registration to some Islamic parties rather approving registration to some secular parties that have no popular support in the grassroot levels.

He accused the EC of favouring a particular party for going to power.

BNP standing committee member MK Anwar, Salauddin Qader Chowdhury, former parliamentary affairs adviser of the BNP Chairperson, Rizvi Ahmed, office secretary, Shamsuzzaman Dudu and Khairul Kabir Khokon, assistant secretaries general of Jamaat Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, Abdul Qader Mollah and Moulana Rafiqul Islam, Shamim Al Mamun, Secretary General of Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Moulana Abdul Latif Nezami, Secretary General of Islami Oikkya Jote and Khelafat Majlis Ameer Moulana Ishaq, among others, addressed the rally.