BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that the current interim government must assume the role of a caretaker government before the upcoming national elections.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening (October 21) after a meeting with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the state guest house Jamuna, Mirza Fakhrul made the remarks.
He said, “To ensure that the upcoming national elections in February are free, fair, and acceptable to all, the interim government must start functioning in the manner of a caretaker government. In other words, it must take on the neutral role that a caretaker administration typically holds.”
Fakhrul added, “For this, the administration must be made completely neutral so that public confidence can be restored. Those in the secretariat who are known as associates of the previous authoritarian regime should be removed and replaced with impartial officials. The same measures must be taken in the district administrations as well.”
The BNP leader further said, “We have also demanded neutrality in police recruitment and in the judiciary. In new appointments and promotions, the process must be free of political influence. In the higher judiciary, those who are still known as associates of the previous regime must be replaced by impartial judges.”
Mirza Fakhrul emphasized the need for neutrality within the interim government itself. “If there are any politically affiliated individuals in the government, they must be removed. The government must maintain a completely nonpartisan stance—this was our main message,” he said.
The BNP delegation, led by Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, included Standing Committee members Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and Salahuddin Ahmed. The delegation entered the Jamuna guest house at 6 p.m. and left at 7:11 p.m. after the meeting.