National Citizen Party (NCP) chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary on Thursday urged the government to hold elections by February to save the country from a ‘civil war-like situation’.

 “The country is heading toward a different kind of situation. Announce elections by February. If you fail to do so and a civil war-like situation arises later the responsibility will fall on your shoulders,” he said at a discussion titled “The Present and Future Path of Politics” at the Dhaka Reporters Unity.

The NCP Chief Coordinator also demanded that the draft recommendations of the Consensus Commission be made public.

He said, “The Consensus Commission has already made its recommendations. Now the ball is in Dr. Yunus’s court. Since he is considered an international-level player, it is often said that foreign players tend to slip when playing in Bangladesh because the field is slippery here."

"But in this slippery field, our Law Adviser adds even more oil. He only wants politicians to slip. Make the draft of the recommendations public—once that happens the NCP will sign it," he added.

Saying  that Bangladesh cannot be guided into the future amid uncertainty and confusion, Nasiruddin Patwary said the debate over whether the referendum should come first or later is nothing but a futile argument between Jamaat-e-Islami and the BNP. 

“They must move beyond such sophistry and cooperate with the Election Commission,” he said.

Referring to BNP’s political origins, Patwary said, “BNP was born through a ‘Yes’ vote. If the party remains rigidly tied to a ‘No’ vote, then BNP’s political end will also come through a ‘No’ vote. BNP is a major political force and we would urge them not to write their own obituary through stubborn rejection.”

About Jamaat-e-Islami, he said the party had created confusion by mixing the issue between the upper and lower houses.

“Ultimately, Jamaat will join hands with BNP over the referendum question. Both parties are engaging in fruitless arguments that only create uncertainty,” he added.