BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Tuesday warned that her party cannot be kept away from the 11th parliamentary elections even if the government tries to do so.

‘BNP will go to the polls as it’s a pro-election party. Our Party can’t be kept out of the election race this time even if they want to,’ she said, reports the UNB.

The BNP chief further said, ‘We’ll surely join the election but it has to be held under a neutral and non-party government, not under Sheikh Hasina as the entire world knows no fair election can be held under her.’

Khaleda came up with the remarks while speaking at a discussion at the Institution of Engineers’ Bangladesh (IEB) arranged by Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal marking its 39th founding anniversary.

She said if the government thinks it will announce the election after arresting BNP leaders and activists it will not work this time. ‘No election like the one held in 2014 will be held in the country. It’ll be held with the participation of all parties, including BNP.’

Khaleda said the general election cannot be held under the current Prime Minister, government and parliament as they are not elected by people. ‘So, the election will have to be held under a neutral government dissolving the present parliament’.

Though the JCD’s discussion was scheduled to be held at the IEB auditorium around 2:00pm, the authorities kept the auditorium locked saying police cancelled permission for the programme on security ground as President Abdul Hamid had a programme at the Supreme Court.

Khaleda arrived at the venue around 4:30pm and decided to observe a sit-in on the IEB premises protesting obstruction to her party’s student wing’s programme.

However, the sit-in programme was withdrawn as the IEB authorities opened the auditorium around 5:20pm in the face of agitation by the leaders and activists of BNP and JCD.