Khaleda rolls out formula for polls-time govt; says JS free to elect 'selected advisers'
Shakhawat Liton and Rashidul Hasan
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday proposed forming a non-partisan polls-time government headed by a respected person, who will be chosen through consensus among the ruling and opposition parties.
She suggested that the ruling and opposition parties will nominate five advisers each for the 10-member advisory council from among the former advisers of the 1996 and the 2001 caretaker governments.
Khaleda, also the leader of the opposition, rolled out the proposal as a counter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent offer to form an all-party polls-time government.
In her proposal, Hasina didn’t clarify who would head the all-party polls-time government but ruling party leaders maintained that Hasina would be at the helm of that administration.
On the other hand, Khaleda in her yesterday’s proposal strongly opposed the proposal for a Hasina-led all-party government and spoke for a non-partisan head of government and advisers for running the polls-time administration.
Speaking at a press conference at Hotel Westin in the capital, the BNP chief called upon Hasina to accept her proposal and take initiative to form a non-partisan government through a constitutional process.
She said the advisers of the interim government could be elected the same way the president, the speaker and the women lawmakers are picked, as the prime minister has vehemently opposed the idea of allowing non-elected people to run the country.
They could be elected before the current parliament is dissolved, said the BNP chairperson, who made the proposal on behalf of the BNP-led 18-party alliance.
She urged Hasina to take immediate steps to hold discussions between the ruling and opposition parties on her proposal.
“We do not want confrontation. We want compromise … I am making a fervent appeal to the honourable prime minister to accept my proposal for the sake of peace, stability and democracy,” she said.
In defence of picking 10 advisory council members from among the ex-advisers of the two previous caretaker governments, she said two credible elections were held with the participation of all political parties under the non-party caretaker governments in 1996 and 2001.
Awami League won the 1996 election while her party won the 2001 polls, she said.
By making the proposal, Khaleda has recognised the credibility and fairness of the caretaker government’s role in the 1996 election won by the AL. Khaleda had questioned the role of the caretaker administration following her party’s defeat in the election.
Similarly, Hasina and her party leaders launched a blistering attack on chief adviser Justice Latifur Rahman and several other advisers after a humiliating defeat at the hands of the BNP-Jamaat-led alliance in the 2001 election.
Khaleda yesterday claimed, “The advisers to those caretaker governments [in 1996 and 2001] were praised by all for their neutrality.”
She, however, didn’t speak for the Fakhruddin Ahmed-led caretaker government that ran the country for nearly two years since January 2007.
The AL-led alliance won a landslide victory over the BNP-led combine in the December 2008 election.
Her proposal for picking a respected person as the head of the interim government is almost similar to one of the options of choosing the chief adviser in the caretaker government system scrapped in 2011.
The provision had empowered the president to appoint the chief adviser from among qualified Bangladeshi citizens after consultation with the major political parties.
And if it didn’t work, the president himself would assume the office of the chief adviser.
Ignoring all the alternatives, the then president Iajuddin Ahmed assumed the office of chief adviser on the advice of the BNP that had elected him president. His assumption of the office deepened the political crisis that led to the declaration of a state of emergency.
She suggested that the ruling and opposition parties will nominate five advisers each for the 10-member advisory council from among the former advisers of the 1996 and the 2001 caretaker governments.
Khaleda, also the leader of the opposition, rolled out the proposal as a counter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent offer to form an all-party polls-time government.
In her proposal, Hasina didn’t clarify who would head the all-party polls-time government but ruling party leaders maintained that Hasina would be at the helm of that administration.
On the other hand, Khaleda in her yesterday’s proposal strongly opposed the proposal for a Hasina-led all-party government and spoke for a non-partisan head of government and advisers for running the polls-time administration.
Speaking at a press conference at Hotel Westin in the capital, the BNP chief called upon Hasina to accept her proposal and take initiative to form a non-partisan government through a constitutional process.
She said the advisers of the interim government could be elected the same way the president, the speaker and the women lawmakers are picked, as the prime minister has vehemently opposed the idea of allowing non-elected people to run the country.
They could be elected before the current parliament is dissolved, said the BNP chairperson, who made the proposal on behalf of the BNP-led 18-party alliance.
She urged Hasina to take immediate steps to hold discussions between the ruling and opposition parties on her proposal.
“We do not want confrontation. We want compromise … I am making a fervent appeal to the honourable prime minister to accept my proposal for the sake of peace, stability and democracy,” she said.
In defence of picking 10 advisory council members from among the ex-advisers of the two previous caretaker governments, she said two credible elections were held with the participation of all political parties under the non-party caretaker governments in 1996 and 2001.
Awami League won the 1996 election while her party won the 2001 polls, she said.
By making the proposal, Khaleda has recognised the credibility and fairness of the caretaker government’s role in the 1996 election won by the AL. Khaleda had questioned the role of the caretaker administration following her party’s defeat in the election.
Similarly, Hasina and her party leaders launched a blistering attack on chief adviser Justice Latifur Rahman and several other advisers after a humiliating defeat at the hands of the BNP-Jamaat-led alliance in the 2001 election.
Khaleda yesterday claimed, “The advisers to those caretaker governments [in 1996 and 2001] were praised by all for their neutrality.”
She, however, didn’t speak for the Fakhruddin Ahmed-led caretaker government that ran the country for nearly two years since January 2007.
The AL-led alliance won a landslide victory over the BNP-led combine in the December 2008 election.
Her proposal for picking a respected person as the head of the interim government is almost similar to one of the options of choosing the chief adviser in the caretaker government system scrapped in 2011.
The provision had empowered the president to appoint the chief adviser from among qualified Bangladeshi citizens after consultation with the major political parties.
And if it didn’t work, the president himself would assume the office of the chief adviser.
Ignoring all the alternatives, the then president Iajuddin Ahmed assumed the office of chief adviser on the advice of the BNP that had elected him president. His assumption of the office deepened the political crisis that led to the declaration of a state of emergency.
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