Nahid threatens to ‘besiege’ PM, if home, energy ministers don’t resign

National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam has demanded the resignation of Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed and Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku, accusing them of failing to perform their duties.

“Both these ministers have failed in their respective areas. If they do not resign, we will hold processions across the country. We will take those processions to besiege surround Mr Tarique Rahman (the prime minister and BNP chairman) and ensure our demands are met, Inshallah,” he said.

Nahid Islam, chief whip of the opposition in parliament, made these remarks in his concluding speech at a mass protest rally in front of the National Museum in Shahbagh, Dhaka, on Friday afternoon.

The NCP's Dhaka North and South units jointly organised the rally to protest the “government-sponsored killings, looting, anarchy, deterioration of law and order, increases in fuel prices, unchecked rises in the prices of essential commodities and politicisation of state institutions across the country”.

Several thousand leaders and activists attended the rally in the presence of the NCP's two mayoral candidates for the Dhaka city corporations, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain and Nasiruddin Patwary. Party leaders and activists occupied the plaza in front of the National Museum and nearby roads.

Criticising the government at the rally, Nahid Islam said, “Rising commodity prices and robberies have made everyone's life miserable. There is no electricity or gas in the country. All institutions in the country are being politicised, and law and order have deteriorated. The current government has completely failed to ensure people's security.

“The Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed bears the greatest responsibility for this failure. Instead of attending to the responsibilities of the home ministry, he has been busy with constitutional amendments. Ignoring the people's verdict in the referendum, he has taken up the task of tampering with the Constitution. He must resign, taking responsibility for the ongoing anarchy, enforced disappearances and killings. Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmood must also resign because both have failed in their respective areas,” he added.

Nahid Islam said the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) government and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had no plan whatsoever for running the country.

Criticising the prime minister, he said at the rally, “Tarique Rahman came from London to Dhaka with a plan for how to establish corruption, looting, extortion, terrorism and occupation in the country. We ousted one autocrat, and now we are witnessing the rise of a new one. But our promise to the people is that we will defeat both the fallen autocrat and this new autocrat, Inshallah.”

Referring to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's announcement that she would return to the country in December, following her ouster in the July mass uprising, Nahid said, “We hear that the fallen autocrat is supposedly returning to the country this December! We know that this new autocrat will not be able to confront that autocrat under any circumstances... Therefore, the youth of Bangladesh must unite, and the people who took part in the July mass uprising must unite once again.”

Nahid Islam raised issues including border killings, unrest in the hills, persecution of Muslims in Assam and West Bengal, and plans to demolish mosques in Delhi.

He said the current government would not be able to protect Bangladesh from India's conspiracies. Tarique Rahman was once again attempting to handover an illegal corridor to India through Bangladesh during his visit to Japan, he alleged. The people of Bangladesh would not accept any such illegal corridor, he added.

The NCP convener said that if the Ganges water-sharing treaty was not renegotiated fairly in December, the people of Bangladesh would take to the streets again. “This time, we will not compromise even an inch on our rightful share in the Ganges water-sharing treaty,” Nahid said.

Referring to the NCP's candidates for DNCC and DSCC, Asif Mahmud and Nasiruddin Patwary, Convener Nahid Islam said, “Nasiruddin Patwary was defeated in the Dhaka-8 constituency through planning and conspiracy. Inshallah, this time we will not let him be defeated. Those who thought they could eliminate the forces of the mass uprising by deliberately keeping Asif Mahmud out of the election will also be defeated in this year's local government elections, Inshallah.”

NCP Member Secretary and MP Akhter Hossen said at the mass protest rally that LPG costs Tk 1,000 in Kolkata, while people in Bangladesh have to buy the same gas for Tk 2,500. Does the Iran war not affect Kolkata? The Energy Minister must answer this question, he said.

Akhter Hossen also demanded the cancellation of the constitution reform committee and the formation of a Constitution Reform Council in line with the referendum's verdict. He also called for bringing the Awami League and its associates to justice for crimes against humanity.

NCP Dhaka South Convener Ishaq Sarkar presided over the rally. Among others, the party's Senior Joint Convener Nasiruddin Patwary, Senior Joint Member Secretary Asif Mahmud, Joint Conveners Ariful Islam Adeeb and Akram Hossain, Jatiya Nari Shakti Convener and MP Mahmuda Alam, Jatiya Jubo Shakti President Tarikul Islam and Jatiya Chhatra Shakti President Abu Baker Majumder addressed the rally.

The mass protest rally was the NCP's largest grassroots programme since the 13th parliamentary election. Several thousand leaders and activists from different levels of the party joined the rally. In the week leading up to the programme, senior party leaders distributed leaflets in different parts of Dhaka to publicise it.

The mass protest in Shahbagh was scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm. Even before that, party leaders and activists started gathering beneath the NCP office in Banglamotor and in Shahbagh. Many of them arrived by bus.

Around 3:30 pm, senior NCP leaders began arriving at the rally venue in Shahbagh. Party Member Secretary Akhter Hossen and Joint Conveners Abdullah Al Amin, Sarwar Tushar and Monira Sharmin were among the first to arrive. Activists subsequently joined in smaller processions.

After 3:45 pm, a large procession led by Nasiruddin Patwary, representing the NCP's Dhaka South unit, arrived from Banglamotor. Another large procession, led by Asif Mahmud and representing the party's Dhaka North unit, entered the rally venue at around 4:15 pm.

The formal proceedings began at 4:10 pm with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, followed by the national anthem. Leaders from different levels of the NCP then addressed the rally.

NCP Senior Joint Member Secretary Sarjis Alam, MPs Hasnat Abdullah, Abdullah Al Amin, Atik Mojahid, Abdul Hannan Masud and Nusrat Tabassum were also present at the rally but did not speak.