National Citizen Party (NCP) convener and Opposition Chief Whip in Parliament Nahid Islam on Saturday warned ruling party BNP that it risks provoking another mass uprising if it continues to obstruct reform and follow what he called the “autocratic path” of the ousted Awami League.
Addressing a national rally of July uprising martyrs' families and veterans at Suhrawardy Udyan organised by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami to press for implementation of the July Charter in line with a public referendum mandate, Nahid said BNP has been blocking meaningful reform at every turn since the mass uprising.
“After the mass uprising, BNP has obstructed reform at every step. When they eventually joined the Consensus Commission, they registered notes of dissent on every major reform proposal,” he said.
Accusing BNP of reneging on the referendum, Nahid said the party had initially agreed to a public vote only to begin walking back from that commitment after the election. “The very party born through a referendum is now repudiating the referendum after the mass uprising, in doing so, BNP is essentially repudiating its own existence.”
He cautioned that BNP's attempt to re-partisan state institutions mirrored Awami League's methods. “If BNP tries to take this country down the old autocratic road, the people of Bangladesh will rise again. The youth will rise again. The students and citizens who took part in the mass uprising will be compelled to return to the streets.”
Turning to governance failures, Nahid alleged that the government was trying to placate the public with family cards and farmer cards while denying a deepening energy crisis, worsening law-and-order, and mounting economic troubles. “Ministers in parliament say there is no fuel crisis but the government has run out of fuel.”
Nahid added that BNP had become unpopular within two months of taking office. “I don't know if any government in Bangladesh's history has become so unpopular in so short a time,” he said, while stressing that his party sought no instability. “Our sole demand is that the July Charter be implemented in line with the referendum, and that the July mass uprising and the families of the martyrs be honoured. We are on the streets and in parliament, and we will secure this demand together.”
The rally was also addressed by Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Opposition Leader Dr Shafiqur Rahman, Liberal Democratic Party Chairman Col (retd) Oli Ahmad, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Ameer Maulana Mamunul Haque, and other senior leaders of the 11-party alliance.