Convener of the newly floated political party, National Citizen Party or Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP), Nahid Islam Friday said there would be no room for pro-India and Pakistan politics in Bangladesh.
“We will build the state keeping Bangladesh and the interest of people of Bangladesh in the front,” he said.
Nahid Islam made the remarks at the launching event of the NCP in the capital’s Manik Mia Avenue in front of the parliament complex on Friday afternoon.
Nahid Islam began his speech welcoming the student-people of the July mass uprising, family members of the martyrs and leaders of political parties. “We want to talk about the future. Having crossed the history of the past, we want to talk about a promising Bangladesh.”
Referring to a popular slogan of the July mass uprising, “Who are you, who I am; an alternative, an alternative,” he said this new party was launched from the perspective of that alternative. “Today, we swear from this stage, Bangladesh cannot be divided.”
He then started reading out a written speech.
The Jatiya Nagorik Committee provided a copy of the declaration to the media.
Following is the text of the declaration:
On the background of the July 2024 student-people uprising led by Anti-discrimination Students Movement, and at the initiative of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, we the student-people of Bangladesh are announcing that:
In the course of history, we the people of the Bengal delta have been prevailing as a community with a prosperous and own culture for a thousand years. The state of Pakistan emerged after a long battle of nearly 200 years against British colonial rule but the mass people of this country were not freed from oppression and discrimination.
As a result, Bangladesh was born as a state as hundreds of thousands of martyrs sacrificed their lives in the great Liberation War in 1971 following a long struggle for 23 years. But, the people of Bangladesh had to fight repeatedly for democracy for a long time after independence.
Student-people ousted the military government by shedding their blood in 1990. Yet, we could not fix a political settlement that can ensure democracy, equity, human dignity, social justice even after five decades of independence.
Rather, a cruel fascist rule was established in the past 15 years where democracy was destroyed using state agencies desperately for partisan interests. Muzzling of dissenting voices, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, rampant corruption and money laundering have been turned into a state culture.
In July 2024, student-people ousted the fascist government that had been deep-rooted for 15 years through their huge sacrifice in an unprecedented uprising.
But we must keep in mind, this freedom gained through sacrifice of hundreds of martyrs has not come for establishing a new government ousting the previous one only. Rather, the people responded to the call for a mass uprising from their expectations for a new political settlement by abolishing the fascist-system, so that a people’s rights-based state could be restructured.
The National Citizen Party has been formed in line with this aim. The new political party will represent the people based on democracy and equity.
The July mass uprising started a struggle to establish the second republic. We have to abolish all the potentials of reestablishment of constitutional dictatorship by composing a new constitution. Our primary aim is to compose a new constitution through constituent assembly elections to establish our second republic.
A powerful defence system will be built in our second republic to protect the national interests; rebuilding the broken political, social, economic and cultural organisations and protecting their democratic nature will be the priorities of our politics. Through this a fully developed democratic country could emerge.
We want development of such a political practice where there will be unity instead of division, justice in place of revenge and merit and qualifications instead of dynasty will be established in every sphere of the society and the state. There will be no place of corruption and nepotism in our politics.
In our second republic, the voices of the people who are lagging behind in the society will be brought to the mainstream. Common people, none other than the common people will be the source of the sovereign power in our republic. A strong protection to all their democratic and fundamental rights will be the driving force of our politics.
We want to build a pluralistic and developed society protecting all the social, gendered, religious and cultural values existing in the state. Our republic will provide strong protection to all the citizens from poverty, discrimination and abuse of power. None of the Bangladeshis will be made other in our second republic; rather, every citizen will be given equal importance and security to all will be ensured.
Through a proper coordination of agriculture, service and production sectors, we want to build such a national economy, which will be self-sufficient, free from income discrimination and sensitive to life, nature and environment.
Wealth will not be accumulated to a few in our economy; rather our economic mantra will be balanced redistribution of wealth. We will work to protect the rights of consumers and the people through stern measures to control syndicates and coterie interests in the private sector.
We will ensure regional cooperation and international partnership to appear as a strong state through economic development; we will build a sustainable and modern economy putting emphasis on science and technology and a practice of invention.
Finally, we want to reiterate our commitments to establish a society based on justice and equality; we firmly believe the July 2024 mass uprising is not only a victory against the fascist rule, it is also a pledge to build our future. Let us go together, let us keep hands to build such a Bangladesh where the voice of every citizen will resonate, where establishment of justice and the struggle of rights to people will be the main goal, where equity and human dignity will be the foundation of the state. It is time to see a new dream, take new paths and build a new Bangladesh.
Let us all make a pledge from our position to build this new Bangladesh. Let us be united and move forward in unison firmly to build our desired second republic. Our country, our rights, our future - our second republic - this is not an untenable dream, rather, this is our pledge.