BNP senior leader Salahuddin Ahmed and NCP convener Nahid Islam gave differing reactions today (18 October) to the July National Charter signed yesterday (17 October).
Salahuddin said the non-signing by some parties, including the NCP, will not affect the upcoming national election. “As far as I know, the NCP and three to four left parties could not attend the signing ceremony. I will not say they didn’t sign it. The opportunity to sign remains open,” he said.
Speaking at the grave of BNP founder and late President Ziaur Rahman, Salahuddin expressed hope that the NCP and other parties will sign the Charter in the coming days. “At one stage, we believe they will also sign the July Charter. In a democracy, not everyone will agree on everything as differences of opinion can exist,” he added. He alleged that the “Awami fascist forces” were trying to create chaos during the disorder before the signing ceremony and claimed that some unruly elements posing as students had infiltrated the gathering under the name of July fighters.
Salahuddin said the nation believes the grave of Ziaur Rahman is a symbol of Bangladesh’s independence and the foundation of multi-party democracy. “We want to bring a change in the country’s political culture to strengthen independence, sovereignty, and democracy, and that process has already begun,” he said.
“With the signing of the July Charter yesterday, this new journey has started. Through its full implementation, Bangladesh will move towards building a strong democratic society and state through reforms in the state structure. People will be able to enjoy and exercise all their democratic, human, and basic rights. We have started a new journey towards this goal,” he added.
In contrast, Nahid Islam warned that the July Charter would be “reduced to a mere formality and constitute an act of public fraud and farce with the nation if it is not given legal footing.” He said constitutional legitimacy is necessary for a document intended to change the Constitution and argued that only Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus possesses the moral authority to grant the Charter legal validity.
Speaking at an emergency press conference at the NCP’s office in Dhaka today, Nahid said the NCP did not attend the signing ceremony for three reasons: the absence of a legal foundation, disrespect towards the families of martyrs and injured July Warriors, and unclear decisions by the National Consensus Commission.
“Without a legal framework, the July Charter would simply become a piece of political compromise paper, contrary to the spirit of the July Uprising,” he said.
The July National Charter was signed yesterday at the South Plaza of the National Parliament, with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, members of the National Consensus Commission, and leaders of 24 political parties, including the BNP and Jamaat, attending.
The NCP, CPB, BASAD, and JASAD boycotted the ceremony.