DHAKA: Bangladesh’s army-backed emergency government has revived its ‘minus two’ plan to oust two ex-prime ministers from politics by arresting one and summoning another to court, analysts said on Tuesday.

The interim government came to power in January following months of turmoil, with a promise to clean up Bangladesh’s notoriously corrupt politics which had been dominated by Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Khaleda Zia for 16 years.

After arresting more than 150 ex-politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats, it has trained its sights on the “battling begums” — Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League.

“It is definitely a manifestation of the ‘minus two’ formula,” said Asif Nazrul, a law professor at Dhaka University.

He said the plan would only succeed if voters viewed it as an attempt to hold the pair to account for corrupt practices, rather than a bid to push them out of political life.

“I think most of the people will look at the issue that way,” Nazrul said, but cautioned: “I believe many people will object (unless) the government can establish that it is based on the corruption issue.” The two women, who held power alternately from 1991 until 2006, represent two rival political dynasties.

On Monday, Hasina was arrested and detained pending a police inquiry into extortion charges, while Zia was summoned to appear in court by August 26 on tax evasion allegations.

Ahmed and Army Chief Lieutenant-General Moeen Ahmed have pledged to implement wide-reaching reforms to strengthen democracy before holding elections in late Dec 2008.—AFP