Abu Jakir :
A rift has emerged within the National Citizen Party (NCP) over the recently unveiled July Proclamation, with several senior leaders accusing the interim government of failing to present a truly inclusive national vision.
In a public statement on Thursday, NCP’s Southern Region Chief Organizer Hasnat Abdullah called the proclamation “incomplete” and alleged that the official ceremony on August 5 prioritized a “handful of groups” over the movement’s martyrs and injured frontline activists.
Hasnat, along with four other NCP leaders, had faced internal disciplinary notice for being absent from the July Uprising Day event in Dhaka, instead traveling to Cox’s Bazar.
Responding via his verified Facebook page, Hasnat explained his absence as a “silent protest against the exclusion and divisiveness” reflected in the final document and the ceremony itself.
“On August 4 evening, I learned that many of our injured comrades and core organizers were deliberately left out of the event. That, to me, was not just a political misstep – it was a moral failure,” Hasnat wrote.
The July Proclamation, which Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus described as a “constitutional milestone,” officially recognizes the 2024 student-led uprising as a transformative democratic event. It was jointly conceived by Students Against Discrimination and the people of the country and later adopted by the interim government.
But Hasnat and others within the NCP allege that the process and final content of the proclamation marginalized core movement participants and substituted unity with factionalism.
“When a national declaration sidelines the wounded and the martyred to spotlight a privileged few, I see no reason to be part of that narrative,” Hasnat wrote, adding that he had left Dhaka for reflection and not evasion.
Disciplinary Notice Sparks More Controversy The NCP had issued formal show-cause notices to Hasnat and four others on Wednesday, seeking written explanations within 24 hours for their absence from the August 5 ceremony. The notices also raised eyebrows for being simultaneously leaked to the media.
Hasnat lashed out at both the party and sections of the press, alleging collusion with state intelligence to malign their reputations.
“We were followed, filmed, and falsely accused of conspiring with foreign diplomats, even though the rumors-like the one about a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Peter Haas-were completely fabricated,” he stated.
“In the new Bangladesh, this old pattern of intelligence-media collusion is as appalling as ever,” he added.
He also denounced what he called the “slut-shaming” of senior NCP leader Tasnim Zara, who was part of the Cox’s Bazar trip with her husband. “This vile gendered attack is clearly aimed at discouraging women from participating in politics,” Hasnat said, urging the party to defend its members rather than tacitly validating the smear campaign.
‘No Violation, No Grounds for Notice’
Hasnat questioned the very basis of the disciplinary action, stating that no clause of the NCP charter was violated. “A show-cause notice must refer to a specific breach of party rules. This one didn’t because I didn’t break any,” he wrote.
He called the notice “procedurally flawed” and its media leak “politically immature,” while reaffirming his commitment to the party’s democratic ideals. “We must grow as a political movement through mutual respect and tolerance, not suspicion and internal policing.”
NCP Leader Nasiruddin: ‘I Reflected, Not Defected’
NCP’s Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari, who was also on the trip, issued a separate response, saying he had gone to Cox’s Bazar to reflect on the uprising, the future citizen-led constitution, and political architecture.
“Sitting by the sea, I contemplated the responsibilities we carry as political actors. That’s not an offense-it’s a duty,” he said.
He denied any ulterior motive behind the trip and confirmed that he had informed the party’s leadership in advance, including NCP Convenor Nahid Islam, through fellow coordinator Nasiruddin.
BNP Questions Motives, Demands Clarity
The controversy has not gone unnoticed outside NCP. BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, while speaking to reporters in Uttara Thursday morning, said the trip may be innocuous, but the secrecy around it raises questions.
“Meetings with diplomats are fine-but why the cloak-and-dagger approach? The public is rightly suspicious,” he said.
Rizvi was visiting the home of a victim of the Milestone School tragedy when he made the remarks.
A Strain on the Uprising’s Legacy?
The fallout reveals deeper tensions in how the legacy of the 2024 mass uprising is being institutionalized. What was once a student-driven, decentralized revolt is now being codified by the interim state-and not everyone agrees on how.
While Dr. Yunus hailed the proclamation as a bridge between “the past and future,” internal dissent suggests the process may be excluding some of the very voices that shaped the movement.
Whether these disputes will lead to organizational reform within NCP or splinters in the broader pro-reform coalition remains to be seen. But what is clear is that unity, the cornerstone of the 2024 movement, is now being tested from within.
