Information and Broadcasting Minister and Awami League Joint General Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud on Friday said the national election will be held in a free, fair and impartial manner whether foreign observers come or not.
"The election is ours. All the elections, including the local government polls, which were held so far, took place in a fair, free and neutral manner. It does not matter if someone observes our election or not. BNP will not be given the opportunity to destabilize the country over the election. The upcoming election will be held on time," Hasan said.
The minister told journalists while replying to a query about sending a delegation by the European Union to observe the upcoming national election during a view-exchanging meeting with journalists on contemporary issues at the YNT Center of the city's Dewanji Pukur lane on Friday.
Awami League Relief and Social Welfare Secretary Aminul Islam Amin and Boalkhali upazila chairman were present.
"Is there any question whether foreign observers go to India during an election? Is there too much talk about it? Or when there is an election in different European countries, do we go to observe from our country or from any other country? We do not go," he added.
He said there is a lot of talk about the election in Bangladesh.
"If foreign observers come, we welcome them, no problem. It does not matter whether someone observes or not."
The minister said the EU will send a small-scale election monitoring team.
"They also mentioned in a letter about their lack of budget. Whether EU observers come or not, our country has an Election Monitoring Forum while observers from various SAARC countries will come to observe the election," the Awami League joint general secretary said.
Asked whether the Awami League and the government are ready to face tough programs such as the strike blockade of BNP and its long-march, the minister said that Khaleda Zia kept the country's people under siege for a hundred days by calling a blockade program.
"Hundreds of people were burnt alive in petrol bomb attacks, thousands were burnt to ashes," he added.
He said the BNP will not be able to stage such a brutal incident in the country again as the people of the country will not allow it anymore.
If there is an attempt to repeat such incidents, the people of the country will unitedly resist them, the information minister added.