DHAKA — The National Citizen Party (NCP) did not take part in the signing ceremony for the historic July Charter on Friday, with the party’s member-secretary, Akhtar Hossain, explaining the reasons.
Speaking to BBC Bangla on Friday, Hossain said the party had sought clarity from the government on several aspects of the charter before signing, but the document leaves the “road map to implementation” unspecified. “If there is ambiguity in the charter, all our gains will go to waste,” he said. “That is why we refrained from joining the signing ceremony.”
Hossain said “a next decision will be taken together with the people” if the unresolved issues with the charter are not addressed. He added that while the party has played an active role around the charter, the public must be told in detail how its current provisions will be implemented.
“We have expressed a desire for change. We will continue to talk to the commission about sustainably implementing what has been gained in the charter, obtaining the draft order on the charter, settling the referendum question, and clarifying the notes of dissent,” he said. “If necessary, we will carry out our political program together with the people.”
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir earlier called the NCP’s absence from the signing ceremony a “misunderstanding” and said the party had shown a “lack of judgment.”
“In our discussions, in the discussions at the Consensus Commission, they were positive on almost everything,” Fakhrul said. “Whatever the issue was, it could have been resolved through discussion. They could have discussed it later as well. We could have sat down and talked about it again. I think this happened due to a lack of judgment. Otherwise they would certainly have signed today.”
Fakhrul said the absence was not a split. “They will be able to understand their mistake and come to the right position. There is room for debate,” he said when asked whether divisions remained. “This will never end, in any country, in any era. And unfortunately our habit is that we very much enjoy debate. But amid all that, what has happened is a great achievement.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report