The National Citizen Party (NCP) says it will not follow the path of compromise taken by the Freedom Party with military ruler General Hussain Muhammad Ershad, nor repeat the “recklessness” that harmed the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD).
Instead, the party will remain “clear and honest” in its objectives, working towards a new constitution through elections to a constituent assembly.
The NCP held a two-day general meeting on Wednesday and Thursday at its temporary central office in the capital’s Banglamotor area.
Around 150 leaders took part in the discussions, which revealed the party’s current political thinking.
Over nearly 17 hours of deliberations, the meeting reviewed the month-long countrywide marches in July, addressed organisational discipline, the NCP’s political stance, and its plans for the future.
Discussion on Cox’s Bazar trip
In July, the NCP held marches in 60 districts. The meeting discussed how those programmes fared, identifying where improvements could have been made.
On 16 July, a clash broke out during the party’s march in Gopalganj. Following that incident, the party did not hold its planned marches in Madaripur and Shariatpur. Likewise, after the crash of a Bangladesh Air Force fighter jet on 21 July at the Milestone School and College campus in Diabari, Uttara, the marches in Feni, Noakhali and Lakshmipur were cancelled.
The meeting discussed holding the march in those five districts soon. However, no dates have been set.
The meeting also discussed the 5 August July declaration marking the July Uprising Day and criticised that. Some said it did not reflect the aspirations of the uprising.
The meeting also devoted significant time to the controversy surrounding the Cox’s Bazar trip by five senior NCP leaders on 5 August.
Several leaders said that on such a historic day, those leaders should have exercised greater caution in undertaking such a trip. However, they also expressed concern over the “media trial” and what they called unwarranted intelligence surveillance on NCP leaders, stressing the need to deal with such matters politically.
‘Neither compromise nor recklessness’
Speaking to Prothom Alo, four NCP leaders present at the meeting said there was discussion about campaigns by various quarters claiming the NCP wanted to delay elections. The party, they said, will not take part in any such efforts.
They also said that for now, the main priority is not the next election but the implementation of the July Charter of Reforms. The NCP will apply political pressure to achieve this.
A senior NCP leader said the party will be neither compromising like the Freedom Party nor reckless like the JSD, but will remain clear and honest in its goal of achieving a new constitution through constituent assembly elections.
It was also noted that implementing a new political arrangement would require changes in the bureaucracy, business community, and other sectors. The NCP plans to work politically on these matters in the future.
The NCP central leadership met from 5:00 pm on Wednesday until 3:00 am, before adjourning. The meeting resumed on Thursday at 5:30 pm and continued until midnight.
Following the meeting, NCP leaders chanted slogans such as “the people now demand – constituent assembly elections” and “the solution for Bangladesh – a new constitution.”
Leaders said there was a lengthy discussion on why the current constitution can no longer serve the country, and why a new one is necessary. The NCP wants to move forward with its demand for constituent assembly elections as the central issue.
NCP’s senior joint convener Ariful Islam Adib told Prothom Alo, “The two-day general meeting was mainly about discussing our future political direction. We talked about political plans and programmes for justice, the July Charter based on fundamental reforms, and constituent assembly elections for a new constitution.”