National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary has said that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has no option left to say “no,” as it has already signed the “July Charter.”
Speaking on Thursday afternoon at a discussion titled “Politics: The current and future roadmap,” organised by Nagorik Oikya at the Shafiqul Kabir Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity, Patwary compared BNP’s position to that of a party that has already agreed to a ‘marriage contract’.
“BNP has already said ‘yes.’ They have consented to the marriage and signed the kabinnama (marriage deed). Now, there’s no option to say ‘no.’ They should have thought carefully before signing the July Charter,” Patwary said, referring to BNP’s recent online campaign promoting a ‘No’ stance on the referendum question.
Patwary also criticised Jamaat-e-Islami, accusing the party of “double standards.”
“Your behaviour shows one thing outwardly and another inwardly. You brought the upper house’s PR mechanism into the lower house and spoiled the entire system,” he said.
He predicted that Jamaat might eventually align with BNP on the referendum issue, saying, “Later, Jamaat may unite with BNP and agree to hold the referendum on election day.”
Commenting on the recommendations made by the Reform Commission, Patwary said, “The ball is now in Chief Adviser Yunus’s court.”
“Since Muhammad Yunus is an international player, it’s often said that foreign players tend to slip when they play on Bangladesh’s field, because the pitch here is very slippery,” he added.
Taking a jab at legal expert and adviser Asif Nazrul, Patwari remarked, “Our Law Adviser Asif Nazrul adds more oil to make the ground even more slippery. He drafted these recommendations for implementing the July Charter, but they must be made public. We do not fully trust Asif Nazrul.”
Patwary warned that if the draft recommendations were not published transparently, “he (Nazrul) could harbour dishonest intentions.”
“We insist that the draft be published first. If we find the recommendations acceptable, we will sign,” he said.
