National Citizen Party (NCP) Member Secretary and Rangpur-4 lawmaker Akhter Hossain on Saturday accused the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of betraying the nation within six minutes of taking the oath as members of parliament by refusing to take a second oath as members of the Constitution Reform Council.
He alleged that the BNP government was following in the footsteps of the Awami League and moving towards consolidating its grip on state power by pursuing constitutional amendments without the opposition’s participation.
Akhter made the remarks at a discussion titled “Proposed Amendments to the Cyber Security Act: The Future of Freedom of Expression and Civil Rights”, organised by the NCP’s Reform Implementation Committee at the Zahur Hossain Chowdhury Auditorium of the National Press Club on Saturday.
Akhter said the government complained that the opposition was unwilling to give it even six months, although the BNP itself had taken less than six minutes to betray the nation.
He accused the government of unilaterally forming a constitutional amendment committee without involving the opposition and moving ahead with constitutional changes on its own.
“This is the path of the Awami League,” he said, warning that such initiatives would not benefit the country.
Criticising the proposed amendments to the Cyber Security Act, Akhter described them as unnecessary.
He said such legislation might be needed if the government intended to abuse its powers and urged it to refrain from enacting laws of this kind.
Amar Bangladesh Party Chairman Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan Manju also criticised the proposed cyber law amendments at the discussion.
He said that whenever the BNP came to power, it tended to introduce laws that enabled it to consolidate authority and exercise power as it wished. However, when the party subsequently found itself in opposition, the government of the day used those same laws against it.
Manju cited the formation of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) by the BNP, alleging that the force had later been used against the party itself.
He also claimed that BNP leaders and activists had fallen victim to RAB “encounters”.
Referring to the proposed cyber law, Manju said the BNP would be unable to enforce it because young people would not allow its implementation.
He added that the public would compare the BNP government’s first 18 months in office with the 18-month tenure of the previous interim government.
Manju said no autocratic ruler in history had managed to remain in power by amending laws to serve their own interests.
He urged the BNP to abandon its efforts to amend the cyber law for political advantage.
Criticising the conduct of BNP leaders and activists, Manju said their activities gave the impression that Tarique Rahman was merely their nominal leader, while their real leader was Sheikh Hasina.
Speakers at the discussion alleged that the government was attempting to silence journalists who criticised the proposed amendments to the Cyber Security Act by offering them benefits and inducements.
They warned that such efforts could threaten citizens’ rights and urged journalists to reject the offers.
The speakers also expressed concern over what they described as vague definitions of offences in the proposed cyber law, including spreading rumours and defaming individuals.
They feared that the ambiguous provisions could create opportunities for misuse of the legislation.
They further alleged that the BNP government’s actions increasingly resembled those of the Awami League administration, citing its move to amend the controversial cyber law as an example.
The speakers called on the government to take action against the BNP’s Facebook page and individuals associated with it if it was genuinely committed to tackling misinformation.
Warning that the opposition would not remain passive if the government failed to act, they said the current opposition would not play the same role as the Jatiya Party had during the Awami League’s rule.
The discussion was moderated by NCP Central Organiser Arman Hossain.
Other speakers included former member of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances Nabila Idris, NCP Joint Convener Sarwar Tushar, Joint Member Secretary Zahirul Islam Musa and Nutshell Today Executive Editor Apurba Jahangir.
