Opposition leader Khaleda Zia has called upon police and the civil administration to not carry out orders of the government from October 27 as she claimed Sheikh Hasina’s administration would become “illegal” from that day.
The former prime minister made the call from a much-hyped mass rally in the capital’s Suhrawardy Udyan on Friday.
“This government will be illegal from October 27. So, do not cooperate with it. Cooperating with an illegal government is also an illegal act and unconstitutional,” she said, although only a day before she had said that it would be from October 25 that the government would lose its legality.
Issuing yet another ultimatum for the government, she announced a 60-hour countrywide hartal starting at 6am Sunday, October 27, if the government did not initiate talks regarding polls-time government by today.
“We are giving the government two days to initiate dialogue over polls-time government. If it [the government] does not start dialogue today or tomorrow, we are announcing a primary programme [hartal].”
She asked the government to come to the negotiating table over non-party caretaker administration saying: “Movement and dialogue will go on simultaneously.”
The BNP chief warned that if the government did not realise the demand for non-partisan government during the next few days, tough agitation programmes were in the offing.
She has issued a total of four ultimatums before in the same vein March 12, 2012, June 21, 2012, May 4, 2013 and September 16, 2013.
“No symptom [of the government’s good intentions] is visible. Unilateral election will be resisted. Election will be held with the participation of all political parties,” she said on Friday.
“Let us amend the constitution together. It will require a small amendment to the constitution to implement our proposal [for a non-partisan ad hoc government].”
The then BNP-led government in 1996 accommodated the provision for a non-partisan polls-time government in the constitution in the face of strong opposition by the Awami League, then in opposition. The provision, however, was annulled in June 2011 by the 15th amendment to the constitution.
“No election will be held under Hasina. People have rejected your [Hasina’s] formula. So you have to accept our formula,” Khaleda said. “We went to parliament and placed the proposal. We have sent a letter to them [Awami League]. If you have good intention then you can initiate dialogue by this time.”
Rejecting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s proposal for an all-party government to oversee polls, the opposition leader on Monday said the ad hoc government could comprise of 10 advisers from the 1996 and 2001 caretaker governments; and a respected and neutral person could head the interim administration.
Urging the people of the country to join the opposition’s movement, Khaleda on Friday said she would meet them on the streets if the government failed to reach a decision on the polls-time government issue.
On October 20, the opposition chief told a convention of pro-BNP professionals that she would walk the path of movement alone if nobody else was ready to accompany her.
“Police, Rab and BDR carried out many illegal orders of the government. I have no complaints against them. You love the country. Do not obey any illegal order of this government from October 27,” she said at the 18-party opposition alliance’s rally on Friday.
Accusing the government of “unduly” detaining many political leaders, the former premier assured their freedom once the current government was dethroned.
Warning the election commission against not holding any unilateral polls, Khaleda said any amendment in the Representation of the People Order would not be tolerated. “If the Election Commission does anything in excess, consequences will not be good.”
The EC has recently been talking about amending the RPO and the electoral code of conduct because these two were meant to work under a non-partisan polls-time government.
Khaleda also lambasted the government for banning rallies. “You, as an illegal government, have besieged the country by imposing section 144 in different places. So if we do that, you cannot prevent us.”
Khaleda condemned the government for its “misrule” and “misdeeds” saying: “You [the government] formed a special force for abducting people. We know the name of that force who are members of that force. we also know which vehicles were used.”
Senior leaders of the 18-party alliance addressed the rally chaired by former Dhaka mayor and BNP’s Dhaka Unit’s Convenor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.
Seeking anonymity, a high-ranked police official told the Dhaka Tribune that around 100,000 people attended Friday’s rally. The figure, however, could not be immediately confirmed from an independent source.
