NCP is a 'King’s Party', 2 of them in govt: TIB Executive Director

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman has described the National Citizen Party (NCP), formed after the July Mass Uprising, as a “king’s party”.

He said this while responding to a journalist’s question during a press conference held at TIB’s Dhanmondi office in Dhaka on Monday.

TIB organised the media conference to publish a research report titled “One Year After the Fall of an Authoritarian Regime: Expectations and Reality”.

In its findings, the TIB research report said a king’s party has been formed under the patronage of the government.

When a newsperson asked specifically which party is meant by “king’s party”, Iftekharuzzaman replied, “There is nothing to hide about this. It refers to the National Citizen Party; they have been dubbed as the king’s party. The reason is because two of its allies or associates are now in the government. In that sense it's a king’s party.”

Iftekharuzzaman further commented that the post–5 August political trajectory has been “unfortunate”.

Explaining this statement, he said, “A section of the top leaders of established political parties engaged in practices like cronyism, extortion, and filing of cases in exchange for money from the evening of that day; these practices have only intensified over the past year. This could not be controlled even after taking actions by the party high commands. Consequently, newly launched political parties have also been following the same model of grabbing and extortion from their inception and heading towards a self-destructive path.”

The TIB report states that from August of last year to June this year, a total of 471 incidents of political violence occurred in the country, resulting in 121 deaths and 5,189 injuries. Of those incidents, 92 per cent were linked to the BNP, 22 per cent to the Awami League, 5 per cent to Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and 1 per cent to the National Citizen Party.

The TIB report further noted that following the fall of the previous government, extortion amounting to Tk 22.1 million (2 crore and 21 lakhs) per day has been taking place at 53 transport terminals and stands in Dhaka that were previously under the control of the Awami League.

Additionally, TIB alleges looting of boulders from rivers and quarries in Sylhet, as well as taking control of leases for bridges, markets, ferry terminals, balumahals (sandbanks), and waterbodies. Politically motivated lawsuits have also been filed.

The report also observed that mobs have been formed, roads blocked, police stations surrounded, and protests staged, all of which contributed to the deterioration of law and order.