Blaming the government for its failure to rein in the terrorists, they called on the people to overthrow the BNP-Jammat alliance through a vigorous movement to free the country from their misrule.

The leaders were speaking at a condolence meeting organised at the party's Bangabandhu Avenue office in memory of former finance minister and AL leader Shah AMS Kibria who was killed in a bomb attack in Habiganj on January 27.

Awami League presidium member Amir Hossain Amu, who chaired the meeting, said Prime Minister Khaleda Zia should step down for her failure to check the current spate of terrorism.

He said the fundamentalist forces are now out to capture state power at any cost and this is a ominous sign for the country.

"The anti-crime elite force Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) has totally failed to arrest Jamaat-Shibir cadres and this proves that Khaleda Zia is rehabilitating the fanatics in the country," said AL presidium member Sayeda Sajeda Chowdhury.

Matia Chowdhury said the government has already destroyed the spirit of the liberation war.

AL joint secretary Obaidul Kader said the government has killed not only Kibria but also democracy and the spirit of the liberation war.

AL presidium member Sheikh Selim MP, Abdul Mannan, former mayor Mohammad Hanif, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya and Nazma Rahman also spoke.