She demanded immediate elections as she felt that "the time limit for the state of emergency has expired". She made the comments while speaking to the press after her visit to the Mujibunnessa Eye Hospital for check-up.

Hasina said, "People who are truly corrupt need to be arrested. Why are they not being arrested? They are freely roaming around...arrest them, not the politicians who have spent days in the streets fighting for the people."

"The time for an emergency has ended. We want democracy; we want people's right to vote because it is the people who have the power. They can never suppress people's wishes, but it seems like that is what they want to do," Hasina said.

"They have not been able to bring down the prices of essentials. Nothing is being done about that. Instead, arrests, tortures... as if they are trying to distract people by creating a state of fear," she said, adding, "This game will not last long."

"It is not even clear what they want to do. The country cannot continue under this suffocating environment," the AL chief said.

She said, "Those of us who have struggled in the streets in rain and storms and endured police beatings; it seems those are the people who are suffering the greatest repression."

Referring to the arrest of her cousin Sheikh Selim, Hasina said that Selim's mother is sick and she was surprised at the manner the house was being searched under the circumstances.

Hasina visited her aunt, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's sister, Asia Khatun at the Sikder Medical College later last night.

During the day yesterday, Matia Chowdhury, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Syed Ashraful Islam and Prof Abdul Mannan paid visits to Hasina.

Hasina was scheduled to visit Tungipara, Gopalganj to commemorate her grand mother's death anniversary this morning but her trip was deferred to a later date, AL sources said.