Addressing a rally at the city's Diploma Engineers Institute on four years of the BNP-Jamaat-led coalition, the Awami League (AL) president said her party, if returns to power in the next general elections, will separate the judiciary in shortest possible time, make education free up to graduation level, and frame new laws to rein in rampant corruption.

At the programme arranged to observe October 10 as a 'Black Day', the former prime minister severely criticised the alliance government's performance against the pledges it [coalition] made before the last election.

Unveiling the pledges, she said, "We will ensure the independence of the Election Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission, and Public Service Commission by allowing them to prepare budget and recruit manpower on their own."

Hasina also promised to enact appropriate laws to ensure transparency in the spending of the political parties as well as the contestants in the polls.

Analysing the ruling alliance's electoral pledges one by one, Hasina said, "In last four years, not a single problem of the people has been solved, rather the government itself has turned out to be a huge burden to the nation."

"Absence of good governance, state patronisation of the criminals, and rise of militants with government knowledge and support have pushed the country into sheer uncertainty," she observed.

"We want to say categorically that Awami League will not let anyone turn Bangladesh into a failed state," the former prime minister said, adding, "We will establish a modern, secular and democratic Bangladesh based on the spirit of the Liberation War."

She said, "We never wanted the BNP-Jamaat-led alliance to fail as we know that failure of any government would mean misery of the people, which now seems to be the order of the day."

Reiterating the demand of the 14-party opposition combine for immediate resignation of the government, she said, "Otherwise we will force the government to quit through united movement."

Before spelling out the 16 pledges, Hasina detailed what she said were misdeeds of the four-year rule of Khaleda Zia.

PRICE SPIRAL OF ESSENTIALS
Giving a comparison between the prices of essentials when she left office in July 2001 and those now, Hasina blasted the alliance government for 'failing miserably' to contain the price spiral.

Citing from a comparative chart of prices, she claimed prices of rice shot up by 65-100 percent, lentil by 60 percent, soybean oil 114 percent, flour 67 percent, salt 80 percent, sugar 50 percent, powder milk 100 percent, egg 64 percent, ginger 243 percent, beef 71 percent, mutton 50 percent, fish 90 percent, vegetables 40 percent, kerosene 113 percent, diesel 100 percent and petrol 83 percent between July 2001 and October 2005.

Transport fare has been increased by 90 percent during the same period, she added.

LAW AND ORDER SLIDE
The opposition leader said BNP in its last election manifesto had pledged to improve law and order, but after four years of its rule the BNP-Jamaat regime and terrorism have become 'synonymous'.

She said the president had granted clemency to a double-murder convict because he is a BNP leader. Besides, ministers had recommended release of militant kingpin Mufti Hannan, infamous for planting bomb in Kotalipara.

Hasina said, "In last four years, terrorism rose to extreme heights as the countrymen were forced to witness grenade and serial bomb blasts across the country."

"How come the government claim that law and order situation is under control when a record 500 blasts have left the entire nation rattled?" the former prime minister questioned.

UNABATED CORRUPTION AND FAILURE IN POWER SECTOR
"Rooting out corruption was BNP's second most important pledge before the last polls, but after coming to power corruption has become the only policy for the government to pursue," the AL chief said, adding, "Bangladesh became world champion in corruption not for once but for three consecutive years under the present regime."

She said 'electricity for all' was the coalition's another key electoral pledge, but in reality the government in last four years has managed to add only 80 MW power. "During our rule, power production rose by about 2700 MW," she added.

PLOT TO RIG NEXT ELECTION
Hasina said the level of failure and misrule of the government is so pronounced that the ruling coalition is 'trying to come to power by circumventing people's mandate through election engineering'.

She alleged that government has extended the retirement ages for judges just to have a loyal person appointed as the chief of the caretaker government. Without consulting the opposition parties, it has already made another BNP faithful the chief election commissioner. Besides, a large number of BNP-Jamaat activists have been appointed election officers as part of a bigger plot to rig the next election in alliance's favour, she observed.

Referring to the opposition's proposals for reforms in the caretaker government and the electoral systems, she said those have become the precondition for good governance.

'ABSENCE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE’
The former prime minister said politicisation under the present government has crippled the administration.

Independence of the judiciary is yet to be given when the integrity of the High Court has been undermined with the appointment of controversial people as judges, she said.

"Politicisation in the judiciary is so grave that one incumbent district judge has been participating in BNP's meetings regularly," she alleged.

"Bangladesh has been branded as a terrorist state under the present regime while the UN has termed it a vulnerable country," Hasina said on the government's performance in foreign relations.

THE OTHER COMMITMENTS
The opposition leader's charter of pledges include implementing education policy adopted by the previous AL government, ensuring education and legal protection for the women and poor, and building up a pro-people health sector.

She also promised to arrange low-interest loans to finance rural industries, commerce and agriculture, ensure adequate irrigation facilities and fertiliser supply for farmers, energy supply to the rural areas, and increase agricultural subsidy.

Implementation of an employment plan in co-ordination with the private sectors to create employment opportunities for the jobless is another pledge that Hasina made in her address yesterday.

She also promised to reduce government intervention in trade and commerce.

Bringing back the people's money that had been siphoned off from the country and introducing e-governance to ensure accountability of the administration too figure among the main opposition's pledges.