‘Mujibism must go, July Charter must be law’

Special Correspondent :

National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam has pledged to eradicate “Mujibism” from every part of Bangladesh, stating that those who uphold the ideology will be held accountable under a future legal and political order.

“Our struggle is not over yet. The fight to build a new Bangladesh is ongoing,” Nahid said during a prayer meeting held in Sreepur Upazila of Gazipur in memory of the martyrs of the July Uprising. The event was part of NCP’s nationwide “July March” campaign on Tuesday to commemorate the first anniversary of the mass movement that toppled the Awami League government.

Addressing a large gathering, Nahid claimed, “Today, we saw armed criminal groups patrolling the streets of Gazipur in an attempt to intimidate us. But the National Citizen Party cannot be silenced – not in Gopalganj, not in Gazipur, not anywhere. We have set foot in all 64 districts, and we will continue this journey.”

He urged citizens to support the NCP and honor the memory of those killed or injured in last year’s uprising, describing them as “the true martyrs of democratic change.”
Sarjis Alam, the party’s chief organiser for the northern region, and other senior NCP leaders also addressed the gathering.

Later, at a separate rally held in front of the historic Rajbari in Gazipur, Nahid accused major political parties of betraying the promises made during the democratic movement of the 1990s. “An outline was drafted by the three-party alliance at that time, but no party honoured it. That betrayal cannot be repeated,” he said.

Nahid reaffirmed the NCP’s demand that the `July Charter and Declaration’- a proposed blueprint for democratic reforms – be finalised by 5 August. “We will not accept any alternatives.

The government has published a draft declaration, but we have made it clear: consensus on reforms is not enough – there must also be agreement on how those reforms will be implemented,” he added.

He insisted that the July Charter must be legally binding, warning that any future government must be held accountable to its terms. “Any party that wins the election and forms the next government must be bound to implement it,” Nahid stated.

The NCP’s “July March” is expected to continue across the country in the lead-up to the finalisation deadline for the July Charter.