Member Secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP) Akhtar Hossain has said, “Reforms are needed in every sector of Bangladesh – the constitution, the judiciary, and the administration. Many discussions have been generated concerning these. We want to amend the constitution through a Constituent Assembly election and then hold the national election. But many only want the national parliamentary election. The government must come to a decision on these matters so that it can arrange the Constituent Assembly election at the right time.”
He made these remarks while talking to journalists during a mass contact program at Ambari in Haragachh, Kaunia, Rangpur, on Thursday afternoon. At that time, he was accompanied by the First Joint Coordinator of Metropolitan NCP, Alamgir Nayan, District Joint Coordinator NI Suman, and other leaders of Rangpur District and Metropolitan NCP.
Prior to this, he distributed leaflets in various areas of Haragachh on the NCP’s thoughts on justice, reform, the Constituent Assembly, and the national election, defying the rain.
Akhtar said the NCP is working on the ground to build public opinion in favour of these demands. “We are delivering our message. We have managed to expand across the entire country in a very short time. We are working to make reforms and justice visible, including the Constituent Assembly election. At the same time, we are also working to build public opinion so that the government can quickly implement the reform initiatives it has put up for discussion. We can build the path forward by taking the common people with us in any democratic movement across the country.”
Akhtar said, “The government can hold the election within the timeframe it has set. However, before that, the government must implement the reform programs, elevate justice to a visible level, ensure neutrality at the field level, and ensure a level playing field. The sooner the government can ensure these, the sooner it can hold the election. Not otherwise.”
Akhtar said, “When people’s aspirations change in any society, when new political groups emerge, a Constituent Assembly election plays a role in creating a new constitutional framework. The reality of a new constitution has been created in Bangladesh. This is why I have been speaking about the implementation of a new constitution for a long time. The government can arrange a Constituent Assembly election at any time. Then we would applaud that initiative of the government.”
On Thursday, he distributed leaflets and gave speeches at roadside meetings in various places, including Char Gonai, Haragachh, Sarai, and Deuti of Pirgacha in Kaunia.