National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam on Saturday said his party has not been sidelined from politics by not signing historic “July Charter.” Those who signed the document have sidelined themselves from the people and the mass uprising, he added.
Nahid came up with the remarks while addressing a press conference at Banglamotor in the capital on Saturday. The signing of July Charter was “nothing more than a formality”, claiming it failed to reflect public aspirations and demands.
“Without a legal foundation, this will amount to a deception of the people,” Nahid said. “We have no objection to the political parties that signed “July Charter”, he said, adding that they did it as a formality.
“But we now demand that the July Charter should be given a proper legal basis,” the NCP convener suggested.
Nahid alleged that “beneficiaries of the previous fascist structure” were conspiring to preserve the old framework through political compromises. NCP has not compromised, rather, it has stood by the countrymen.
The NCP leader condemned BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed’s remarks labelling “July fighters” as “Awami fascists”. He called on him to withdraw his statement and seek apology.
NCP Member Secretary Akhter Hossen said the party’s decision to abstain stemmed from concerns over the charter’s legal validity and lack of an enforcement roadmap.
“The July Charter, without legal basis, risks becoming another gentleman’s agreement rather than a binding national framework,” he added.
“We are not rejecting the July Charter itself,” Akhter clarified. “We only insist that it must stand on a lawful and moral foundation.”
