NCP steps up street protests alongside parliament, long marches and mass rally ahead

The National Citizen Party (NCP) wants to increase political pressure on the government not only in parliament but also on the streets. To this end, the party will organise its own programmes as well as participate in a series of programmes with the 11-party alliance.

The party plans to present its political positions and demands to the government through long marches towards four divisions in September and October, followed by a mass rally in Dhaka on 14 November.

Several senior NCP leaders told Prothom Alo that the party is currently focusing on three areas: questioning the government’s decisions and actions in parliament, remaining active on the streets as part of the alliance, and strengthening its own organisational capacity.

The aim is to hold the government accountable for its decisions and build public opinion on various issues affecting people’s lives.

The 11-party alliance is scheduled to begin a series of long marches on Saturday (5 September), to put pressure on the government. The first march will travel from Dhaka towards Chattogram.

This will be followed by marches towards Rangpur on 19 September, Khulna on 10 October and Sylhet on 24 October. Finally, the alliance has announced a mass rally in Dhaka on 14 November.

A senior NCP leader, speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, said they wanted to send a major political message to the government through the Dhaka rally.

Subsequent programmes would depend on the situation and the government’s actions. If necessary, the next course of action could be announced from the mass rally, the leader said.

Alongside the 11-party alliance’s programmes, the NCP will continue to organise separate programmes at the district, upazila and metropolitan levels according to its own capacity.

However, party leaders acknowledge that the NCP has yet to develop sufficient organisational strength to independently carry out large-scale political programmes. For this reason, the party currently plans to remain active on the streets in coordination with the 11-party alliance.

At the same time, the NCP is continuing efforts to strengthen its organisational structure. Committees are being formed and restructured at different levels of the party.

In addition to participating in anti-government programmes, the party aims to consolidate its position as an independent political force in the future.

The NCP is also preparing for the upcoming local government elections. Party leaders said they plan to field candidates in a significant number of upazilas, municipalities and union parishads, in addition to city corporations.

So far, the party has announced candidates in five city corporations and 100 upazilas and municipalities. Through election-related activities, the party also wants to expand its presence at the grassroots level.

17 August marked six months, or 180 days, since the BNP government took office. On the occasion, the NCP held a press conference to present its assessment of the government’s performance.

Party leaders discussed the law-and-order situation, fuel supplies, commodity prices, the economy, employment and the reform process. The NCP believes more effective measures are needed in these areas.

A central party leader said that after the government took office, the opposition had tried to play a cooperative role. Given the country’s economic situation, the party had focused on parliamentary discussions and limited programmes rather than launching major protests.

But now that the government has completed its first six months, they believe it is necessary to become more active in parliament and on the streets over various government decisions and issues affecting the public.

Asked about the matter, NCP Senior Joint Convener Ariful Islam Adeeb told Prothom Alo that, as an opposition party, the NCP wants to hold the government accountable. For this reason, alongside speeches in parliament, the NCP is creating political pressure on the government through programmes on the streets.