NN Online:
National Citizen Party (NCP) Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain has urged the interim government to visibly demonstrate its commitment to justice and structural reforms before holding the upcoming general election.
Speaking at a press conference at the NCP’s central office on Wednesday, Akhtar responded to Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus’s recent national address, in which a February deadline was announced for the polls.
“This government came into being with a clear reform mandate—to ensure justice for mass killings and to fundamentally restructure the state,” Akhtar said. “Before moving forward with the election, it must show concrete progress on these fronts.”
While welcoming the July Proclamation, Akhtar expressed disappointment that it failed to address some key issues that reflect the people’s aspirations.
“We have reviewed the proclamation in detail,” he said. “Although it references the anti-colonial struggle, there is no mention of the 1947 Partition. Crucial events such as the Pilkhana massacre, Shapla Chattar crackdown, judicial executions, the 2018 anti-quota protests, the Road Safety movement, the student uprising after Abrar Fahad’s murder, and the anti-Modi protests have all been omitted. Including these would have made the proclamation more complete.”
Akhtar also questioned the official figure of martyrs cited in the proclamation.
“It says nearly 1,000 people were martyred, but according to a UN report, the number is closer to 1,400. The government has failed to determine an accurate count even after one year.”
He further stated that rather than incorporating the July Proclamation into the preamble of the current constitution, it should lay the foundation for a new one.
“A new constitution is essential to form a new political community in Bangladesh. We demand that the proclamation serve as the preamble of a future constitution,” Akhtar said.
He reiterated the NCP’s long-standing call for a new constitution through a Constituent Assembly and proposed that agreed reforms be implemented by the interim government via a Legal Framework Order (LFO).
