It is not possible to bring one in election: Home Minister

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said that if someone does not want to come to the election, then it is not possible to bring him in the election forcibly.

The home minister came up with the remark while talking to the journalists at the Secretariat on Thursday after a courtesy meeting with Gwyn Lewis, the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh.

Asked whether pressure was created for candidates to join the election, he said, “There are no questions of creating pressure. A significant number of leaders have shown interest in joining the upcoming national election and some are inclined to contest as independents.

The minister said that he told Lewis that a majority of political parties have already engaged in election activities.
“BNP leaders, disregarding the party command, have divided into factions -- some under the name of Trinamool BNP and some as BNM [Bangladesh Nationalist Movement], signalling their intention to take part in the election,” he said.

In responding to a question, he said the government has no say in the denial of bail to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam as the judiciary is independent.