“Some political parties are sidelining farmers’ rights under the cover of the referendum. Both the referendum and farmers’ rights are equally important. Reform and farmers’ rights are not separate issues — they are deeply interconnected,” he says
Member Secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP) Akhtar Hossen. Photo: Collected
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Member Secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP) Akhtar Hossen. Photo: Collected
The reform process being divided up according to the government’s will has created uncertainty regarding whether the July National Charter will be implemented at all, National Citizen Party (NCP) Member Secretary Akhter Hossain said today (15 November).
“The opaque handling of reforms has undermined confidence,” he said at a seminar on young agricultural entrepreneurship in Dhaka’s Farmgate.
“Some political parties are sidelining farmers’ rights under the cover of the referendum. Both the referendum and farmers’ rights are equally important. Reform and farmers’ rights are not separate issues — they are deeply interconnected,” Akhter added.
Criticising the previous Awami League government, he alleged, “Farmers were consistently exploited under the banner of development. During the Awami League regime, farmers were trapped in debt while political leaders siphoned money abroad.”
“We expect a policy-driven Bangladesh that protects agriculture,” he said.
Expressing frustration over the current law and order situation, the NCP leader said, “The violence and clashes even after 5 August have been deeply disappointing.”
Speaking at the event, the party’s Senior Joint Chief Coordinator Abdul Hannan Masud emphasised the need to utilise all cultivable land. “No farmland should remain unused. Cultivation must continue under both government and private initiatives.”
Masud claimed that a fertiliser shortage has emerged. “When there are thieves inside the house, you don’t need thieves from abroad.”
Highlighting the alarming state of land-grabbing and corruption across the country, the NCP leader said it has become difficult to recover canals and rivers because of influential occupiers.
He also claimed that the country’s economy had long been dependent on the United States, and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was brought in to shift that model. “But under pressure from the establishment, Professor Yunus has also surrendered. Now they expect us to fight while keeping us within the old system.”
Senior Joint Convener Samantha Sharmin said they have discovered a stark difference between student politics and national politics.
“National politics is dominated by extortionists and goons,” she said.