A three-member delegation of the Awami League (AL)-led 14-party yesterday met President and Chief Adviser to the caretaker government Prof Iajuddin Ahmed at Bangabhaban. The delegates -- Abdul Jalil, Amir Hossain Amu and Nurul Islam -- urged him to carry out the 11-point task, saying they would otherwise announce fresh course of agitation from today's Paltan Maidan rally.

"We have told the president if we can't see his activities through which we can observe his neutrality by tomorrow [today] noon, there will be no alternative but to go for vigorous movements," AL General Secretary Jalil said. He was speaking to reporters at a press briefing at the party's Dhanmondi office last night.

Prior to the briefing, the 14-party held an emergency meeting where Jalil directed all the allies to chalk out programmes for today.

The 14-party sits today morning to finalise their next course of action.

The alliance delegates yesterday also reminded Iajuddin to bring radical changes in the posts of the deputy commissioners, superintendents of police, upazila nirbahi officers, thana nirbahi officers and other top posts in both the civil and police administration.

Earlier at a preparatory meeting organised by the 14-party's Dhaka city unit, the alliance issued the same threat to Iajuddin.

"We'll declare vigorous movements at tomorrow's [today's] rally if the caretaker government failed to meet our deadline," AL presidium member Amu told a preparatory meeting at the AL's central office on Bangabandhu Avenue yesterday.

Another 14-party delegation led by AL President Sheikh Hasina on October 30 met the caretaker chief and handed him over the 11-point "immediate" task to carry out by today.

The 14-party is pressing hard the president to bring drastic changes to both the civil and police administration since he was sworn in as the chief adviser on October 29.

Briefing the journalists, Jalil, also 14-party coordinator, said he has asked the president to meet their charter of demands. The demands also include restructuring of the Election Commission.

"We have made it clear that the recent administrative reshuffle is not enough and all contractual appointments must be cancelled to hold a free and fair election," Jalil said. He added that a large numbers of political appointments during previous government's tenure have not yet been cancelled.

The establishment, law and home secretaries are still in their posts, he said, alleging that all appointments in the president's office are also controversial and they have still contacts with the BNP-Jamaat alliance.

"All controversial and contractual appointments can be cancelled by a single notice," Jalil argued. He said the ambassador and high commissioner to the US and the UK were appointed on contracts by the BNP-Jamaat and these would have to be cancelled.

He said they also told the president to change all the managing and governing bodies of all government offices, banks, schools, colleges and other organisations.

"We have also told him to issue a declaration through the media to put down the portrait of former prime minister Khaleda Zia," he said.

The chief adviser assured them of taking all necessary measures to hold a free and fair election, he added.

The AL leader reacted sharply over BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan's comments that he has not heard about the demand of restructuring of the EC.

He said Bhuiyan proposed to him repeatedly to remove MA Aziz and reconstitute the EC if the 14-party accepted Justice KM Hasan as the head of the caretaker government.

Accusing Bhuiyan of "blatantly lying", Jalil said it is not the AL rather the BNP that has been conspiring to foil the upcoming elections.

He also accused the BNP of threatening Iajuddin to follow their directions. The 14-party coordinator vowed to resist any "blue-print" election in the country.

At yesterday's preparatory meeting, AL leader Amu observed a congenial atmosphere for the fair polls is yet to be created.

Another AL presidium member Tofail Ahmed said no fair elections are possible under the EC headed by Aziz.

"Take effective measurers in a day to reconstitute the Election Commission to prove that you are non-partisan," he said pointing to the president. "Simply a written order is enough to cancel all controversial and political appointments and reshuffle the administration." It is not a matter of 10 days, he argued.

The 14-party leaders slammed Adviser Justice Fazlul Huq for his reported remarks on them, saying this proved he is "a partisan, not a neutral person". They urged the president to take proper actions against him.

Accusing Justice Huq of advocating in favour of a political party, Jalil said at the briefing that people of the country would give him a good lesson for that.

"When he (Justice Huq) was in service, he was involved in many illegal activities and took many illegal facilities using the administration."

He said Huq is not such a person to deserve a position in the caretaker government. He urged the justice to resign immediately to save the dignity of the post.

Senior leaders Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Suranjit Sengupta, Matia Chowdhury, Obaidul Quader, Rashed Khan Menon, Hasanul Haque Inu, and Dilip Barua, among others, attended the briefing.