Polls under non-party govt a must

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday dismissed the prime minister's proposal for an election-time cabinet as vague and said there was no alternative to a non-party government to oversee the next parliamentary elections.
An interim government comprising members of the ruling party and the opposition might replace the caretaker government system, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in a recent interview with BBC Bangla Service in London.
"The BNP won't accept any interim government comprising political leaders," Fakhrul said while talking to reporters at the party's central office at Nayapaltan in the capital.
The main opposition is ready to sit down to talks with the government if it agrees in principle on the issue of a neutral government system. "It will be a grave mistake if the government makes any other move," the BNP leader noted.
He went on to add that Hasina's proposal was intended to confuse people and quell the opposition's ongoing agitation demanding a restoration of the caretaker system in the constitution.
On the charge framing in an arson case against opposition leaders, including him, Fakhrul said the government would not be able to stop the BNP from continuing its movement, even if it arrested all opposition leaders.
A restoration of the caretaker system has turned into a public demand, he said.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has rejected the proposal, saying the general elections must be held under a neutral administration.
A Dhaka court on Tuesday framed charges against 46 opposition leaders in the arson case.