Khaleda can't join polls if sentence not scrapped: AG

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said on Tuesday BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia cannot participate in the upcoming national election until her sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case is cancelled, report agencies

"Until her (Khaleda's) sentence is cancelled, she can't participate in the election. If the sentenced is suspended, she might escape serving jail term but can't join the polls," he said while talking to reporters at his office.

The attorney general was giving his instant reaction to a High Court verdict extending the jail term of the BNP chief in the graft case to 10 years from five years.

He said the verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case is a massage for all politicians. "This verdict certainly bears a sign that if anyone commits crime while in power, he/she can't remain above the law."

While replying to a question on the provision for Khaleda Zia to take part in the election, advocate Mahbubey Alam said there are two options, either the sentence has to be stayed or she has to be acquitted.

"But I think, if someone gets convicted, he or she has to be acquitted to take part in the election," he said.

Meanwhile, Law Minister Anisul Huq on Tuesday said the court will now decide the fate of the BNP chairperson.

The Law Minister came up with the remarks after inaugurating a four-storey District Registration Complex at Kayempur in Narayanganj.