BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir their party feels ashamed of seeing Bangladesh in the list of autocratic countries in a recent study.
"BBC online has published a report based on the findings of a German-based institution that Bangladesh is one of five low-ranking countries where autocracy emerged eliminating democracy," he said on Saturday.
The BNP leader made the remarks while speaking at a press beefing at BNP's Nayapaltan central office.
Fakhrul further said, "As Bangladeshi citizens and those of us who fought for democracy and earned the country's independence feel ashamed of seeing the study findings."
According to UNB, he mentioned that their party has long been saying democracy is absent in Bangladesh.
Fakhrul alleged that their assertion has been proved right and recognised through the study.
"The government has now taken the country to such a stage with its despotic rule," he claimed.
German-based organisation Bertelsmann Stiftung in its report released on Friday said five countries -- Bangladesh, Lebanon, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Uganda -- 'no longer meet the minimum standards for democracy.
"These countries, where democracy has been gradually undermined for years, are under autocratic rule....," said Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index report 2018.