Meet four demands in 48 hrs: Khaleda

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FE Report
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia Monday announced that the BNP-led four-party alliance would participate in the general election provided the government met their four conditions within next 48 hours.
The four conditions are: Total withdrawal of the state of emergency, deferring of the Upazila elections by at least one month, scrapping of the Article 91(E) of the Representation of People Order (RPO) and ensuring the participation of the Hajj pilgrims in the general election.
"Despite a lot of adversities, we have completed our election preparations… We want to participate in the elections if our conditions are met by the government within the next 48 hours," she told a press conference at her Gulshan party office.
She went on "If the conditions are not met within the given timeframe, then the government and the Election Commission (EC) will be responsible for any untoward situation."
Also terming the schedule of December 18 election a 'deception' with the nation, the BNP chairperson blamed the EC for it.
About the preparations of the EC, Khaleda Zia said two of their allies are yet to get registration from the EC.
"At the fag end, an attempt is going on to hold the elections in a ridiculous manner," she said.
Khaleda also blamed the election commission for not doing its assigned tasks but talking much creating misgivings among the people.
She however praised the armed forces for their contribution in preparing the digitized voter list with photos.
Khaleda addressed the press conference after holding a meeting with the leaders of the four-party alliance, her party sources said.
Before the alliance meeting, Khaleda also chaired a meeting of BNP's national standing committee, which discussed the issues relating to the upcoming general election, the sources said.