Don't try to hold election without caretaker government: Mirza Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday asked the government not to attempt to hold the election without a caretaker government.

He warned that the government would not be allowed to do so.

"Today, not only us, the international community is saying that the previous elections held under Awami League government were not fair. This time too, if election is not held with the participation of all parties, they will not accept it," he said while addressing a doa-mahfil and discussion meeting at Mirza Ruhul Amin Auditorium in Thakurgaon municipality today seeking recovery of ailing BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.

"We will force this government to resign and hold election under a neutral non-party government through uniting all the forces," he said.

He demanded the release of Khaleda Zia and the withdrawal of false cases against the party's leaders and activists.

Mirza Fakhrul said, "You know the present situation in the country. No opposition leaders and activists and their children get jobs. Today, the government is afraid of Tarique Rahman. He is leading the movement for democracy today."

"I want to make it clear to the government that she (Khaleda Zia) should be released immediately for better treatment. Otherwise, the people of this country have woken up, they are holding huge rallies," he said.

"They [people] have told you through a grand rally in Dhaka that no, you can no longer be in power," Fakhrul said.

District BNP president Taimur Rahman, general secretary Mirza Faisal Amin, vice-presidents Nur Karim and Al Mamun Alam, among others, were present in the meeting.