Bangladesh ex-PMs face challenge from partymen

DHAKA, June 22 (Reuters) Two senior leaders from Bangladesh's two main political groups demanded today that former prime ministers Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina resign as party chiefs as part of reforms ahead of elections next year.

The call comes amid a nationwide crackdown launched by the couutry's army-backed interim administration on corruption in which more than 170 political figures from both the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have been detained.

''We demand Khaleda should go, otherwise the blunders committed by her colleagues in the recent past might recur, creating more problems for the party,'' said Z A Khan, a member of the seven-member advisory council to the BNP chief.

Khaleda heads the BNP, while Hasina leads the Awami League.

The two women, both former prime ministers, have been targeted by the interim administration for graft and abuse of power, prompting calls from some partymen of a change in leadership.

''The leadership in the top must be changed, as her ill-advised remarks provoked the interim government to take strong stance against the party,'' said Amir Hossain Amu, a senior leader of the Awami League, referring to Hasina's remarks earlier this year calling the interim government illegal.

Amu is a member of the 15-member presidium of the Awami League.

Leaders of the two parties said earlier this week they had finalised a set of internal reforms aimed at curbing the powers of the party chiefs.

The two women, bitterly opposed to each other, have long wielded absolute power in their parties. They have said they were ready to consider the reform proposals.

The army-backed interim government headed by former central bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed has vowed to clean up politics before holding the election expected at the end of next year.

The interim authority cancelled an election planned for January 22 and banned all political activity.

REUTERS SKB VV1505