The Al chief also urged the government to hold the election so that the people are able to elect a government of their choice.

"People want to exercise their democratic and constitutional rights of franchise to have an elected government that will fulfil their aspiration. So, let the aspiration of the people be fulfilled as they had waged movements against the BNP-Jamaat coalition government for a free and fair election," said Hasina.

The AL president made the remarks at a view exchange meeting with the members of Awami Chalochchitra (film) League at her Dhanmondi office in the capital.

Saying that the present interim government is the result of the people's movements spearheaded by AL to thwart the 'election engineering' plot of BNP-Jamaat, the immediate past leader of the opposition said the government must realise that the people cannot be deprived of their rights to elect a government for long.

The former prime minister said it should also be taken into consideration that the people's right to vote is not denied in the process of doing 'everything'. "If the voting rights are denied, democratic values disappear," she said.

"The Bangalees can be patient, but they cannot be patient for too long," she said, hoping the interim government will fulfil the people's aspiration by holding the election as early as possible.

Hasina, however, welcomed the reforms carried out by the government and demanded it initiate a thorough investigation into all unlawful activities that took place during the previous government's regime including killings, tortures, harassments, repression on women and minority, lootings, encroachment, plundering, money smuggling, filing of false cases, politicisation, corruption, bomb and grenade attacks.

The AL president also urged the government not to harass the AL and its front organisations without specific grounds. She also called upon the interim government not to evict poor people. Rather, she suggested that the government evict those BNP-Jamaat ministers who were allotted government residences and later purchased those houses for a very low price through auctions.

Hasina also demanded the government to free the Film Development Corporation (FDC) from politicisation and from makers of vulgar films. She advised the filmmakers to make tasteful cinemas free from vulgarism and with a message to develop the society.

Hasina said the previous BNP-Jamaat government destroyed the social values, ethics, culture and heritage of the country by resorting to wide scale corruption and misrule.

Senior AL leaders including Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Matia Chowdhury, Obaidul Quader, were present at the meeting.