Bangladesh's interim govt incapable of holding fair polls: Awami League

New Delhi, Jan 17 (PTI) Bangladesh's interim government barred Awami League from contesting the upcoming parliamentary polls as it feared the party's popularity, two senior leaders of the party said on Saturday.

Awami League leaders Hasan Mahmud and Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury also said that the Muhammad Yunus-led interim govt in Dhaka is incapable of holding free and fair polls in the country.

"Under this administration, a level playing field for Awami League will never be possible," Mahmud, who was a minister in the Sheikh Hasina-led government, said at a media briefing in New Delhi.

"We do want to participate in the election, we came to power all the time through elections, we believe in people's power," he said.

Hasina, 78, has been living in India after she fled Dhaka following collapse of her government in August, 2024 in the face of a massive anti-government agitation.

Mahmud and Chowdhury also accused the Yunus-led dispensation of failing to protect the minorities in Bangladesh.

Mahmud said the Awami League was banned from contesting the election in view of the party's popularity.

"There must be rule of law. We shall definitely return to the country along with Sheikh Hasina, our leader," he said. PTI MPB NB NB