Renewing her demand for a non-party caretaker administration to oversee the next general election, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Sunday categorically said Sheikh Hasina will not be allowed to head the election-time government. “KM Hasan was an impartial retired chief justice in 2007, but you didn’t accept him as the caretaker government chief. You, Hasina, are a partisan prime minister as well as the chief of a political party. So, the question doesn’t arise to accept you. You won’t be accepted. The election won’t be fair under you. You must go,” she said. Khaleda Zia, also the leader of the opposition in parliament, was addressing a huge public rally at Rangpur Zila School ground in the afternoon. In her 40-minute speech, the BNP chief blamed the government for politicisation of the judiciary, the administration and law enforcement agencies. She asked the government officials not to comply with the illegal directions of the government saying that the incumbent government does not have the ability to dismiss them at the fag end of its tenure. “The government is illegally directing the DCs, UNOs, SPs and OCs to work in favour of them. You simply don’t comply with that. You can rest assured that Awami League has no power to fire you at the fag end of its government’s tenure. You won’t lose your jobs either with the change of the government,” the former premier said. Pointing at the Election Commission, Khaleda Zia said, “I tell the EC, you, never arrange any one-sided election and you can’t do that. If you act as the ‘yes men’ of the government, you must go.” Khaleda reached Rangpur Circuit House around 2:20 pm staring her journey from Bogra around 11:50am. Earlier on Saturday, the leader of the opposition left the capital embarking on her three-day tour of the country’s northern region and stayed overnight in Bogra Circuit House. During the tour, BNP chairperson is scheduled to address another public rally in Rajshahi on Monday. She will return to Bogra again today (Sunday) to stay overnight at the Circuit House there. As part of its movement strategy, the BNP-led 18-party alliance is going to arrange the two rallies in two divisional cities to woo public support in favour of the opposition’s demand for arranging the next polls under a non-party administration. Khaleda will start for Rajshahi on Monday morning and address a public rally at Rajshahi Madrasah ground in the afternoon and then return to Dhaka at night. – UNB
