"Why police and other law enforcement agencies use the taxpayers' money when a private force takes the law into its own hands?" she asked, pointing out the emergence of Islamist outfit Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) in the northwest to exterminate outlaws.

Hasina, also president of the Awami League (AL), was addressing the opening session of the triennial conference of Dhaka district Jubo League, youth front of the main opposition party, at Mahanagar Natya Mancha in Dhaka.

Pegging the government as 'communalist terrorists', she said: "The entire country is now hostage to criminals patronised by the government."

She accused the BNP-Jamaat coalition of transforming the peaceful country into a land of terror.

On the recent demand for arrest of JMJB operations commander Bangla Bhai by Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Industries Minister Motiur Rahman Nizami, Hasina said, "It's nothing but a drama.

"Bangla Bhai is their own activist -- an activist of Shibir and a cadre of Jamaat. He is now killing people under police patronage."

Illustrating what she termed the free-fall of law and order, Hasina mentioned the assassination of prominent AL lawmaker Ahsanullah Master in Tongi and bomb attack on British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury in Sylhet.

Hasina accused her archrival Prime Minister Khaleda Zia of pursuing an agenda of killing pro-liberation and non-communal people after taking office joining ranks with fundamentalist forces.

The former prime minister said the economy was tottering on the edge of collapse, but the finance minister was trying to show the growth rate one percent up in the upcoming budget.

"We took the growth rate to six percent during our rule. This government presided over the fall of the rate to four percent. Now they are trying to raise it by one percent."

In a veiled allegation of corruption against the prime minister's family, she said: "Only one family will benefit from the economic growth whatever it may be, not the people."

Hasina also said the common man would continue to suffer because of high inflation rate.

She said the government raised the retirement age of Supreme Court judges through the 14th amendment to the constitution only to get a like-minded man placed as the chief of the next caretaker government.

He was a former international affairs secretary of the ruling BNP, she claimed.

Presided over by Dhaka District Jubo League Convenor Manjurul Alam Shaheen, the programme was also addressed by frontline AL leader Zillur Rahman, Jubo League Chairman Jahangir Kabir Nanak and General Secretary Mirza Azam.

At the conference, Shafiul Azam Khan and Faruk Hasan Tuhin were elected president and general secretary of the Jubo League unit on a three-year term in direct vote by 197 councillors.

Other office-bearers of the 71-member committee will be elected soon, party sources said.