Bangladesh News

Four-party alliance yesterday demanded that the government release BNP Chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia immediately as she secured bail in all the cases against her.

Leaders of the BNP-led alliance also demanded holding of the national election before any other polls.

They made the demands at a meeting organised by the alliance to press home its five-point demand including release of Khaleda.

“We hope that the caretaker government will not create any further barrier to her (Khaleda) release,” BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain said at the meeting held at Diploma Engineers Institute in the capital.

Alliance leaders and activists attending the meeting expressed joy and happiness as the news of Khaleda’s getting bail from the High Court (HC) in Gatco and Niko graft cases reached the meeting venue at about noon.

The BNP secretary-general and other alliance leaders termed it a victory for four-party.

Delwar hoped that the government would go by the HC order to free the detained former premier.

He criticised the Election Commission’s initiative to hold upazila polls before the national election.

“BNP is an election-oriented party, and it wants to participate in elections. But at the same time, we want such elections in which all political leaders including our chairperson will be able to take part,” he said.

Delwar expressed his gratitude to Allah that their party chief got bail in all the cases and thanked people for their support in this regard.

On the proposed talks with the Election Commission (EC), Delwar said, “Why this dialogue with us now when you (EC) bypassed us in the past?”

He accused the EC of ignoring the BNP and its allies, and other political parties in making electoral laws under the interim government’s ‘reform recipe’.

“When everything is complete, why do we have to talk?” questioned Delwar.

He demanded that the next elections be held with the previous electoral laws in place.

“Please stick to your roadmap and don’t try to deviate from that,” he said, adding that national elections should be held first.

“If you try to hold upazila election first, the people will not accept,” he said.

Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid and Islami Oikya Jote Secretary General Abdul Latif Nezami, among others, addressed the meeting.