Staff Reporter:
National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam yesterday said no attempt to rehabilitate Awami League-style politics would be allowed in Bangladesh, stressing the need to safeguard democratic values and ensure a fair political environment in the post-uprising period.
“We do not want a situation where eggs are thrown at candidates of one party yesterday and at candi-dates of another party today. Silence from the Election Commission and the police administration is cre-ating uncertainty,” he said while addressing a press conference at the party’s Fakirapul office under the Dhaka-8 constituency.
Nahid Islam alleged that Nasiruddin Patwary, chief coordinator of the NCP, was obstructed and pelted with bricks and stones when he went to Habibullah Bahar College as an invited guest. He also said that Ariful Islam Adib, an NCP candidate in the Dhaka-18 constituency, was attacked earlier.
He further alleged that Jamaat-e-Islami women activists were attacked in several districts in recent days, claiming that a particular party was gaining undue electoral advantage by violating the code of conduct amid administrative inaction, thereby undermining a level playing field.
Referring to the post-uprising political context, Nahid Islam said the mass movement had created an op-portunity to establish a new political culture based on accountability and democratic practices.
He said political forces should have sought public forgiveness for past wrongdoings following the upris-ing and begun anew, adding that selective references to history would not contribute to democratic sta-bility.
The NCP convener said his party was not interested in dwelling on the past but was focused on ensuring a free, fair and neutral election. Referring to democratic movements in Dhaka, he said the struggle for voting rights and democracy must continue through peaceful and constitutional means.
Describing the recent incidents as unfortunate, he said denying such event was even more regrettable. He alleged that identified activists were involved in the attacks and urged the authorities to act responsibly.
He also said preaching democracy on public platforms while suppressing political opponents through violence was unacceptable, adding that the people of post-uprising Bangladesh would not tolerate any form of political intimidation.
Earlier, Nasiruddin Patwary, the NCP’s Dhaka-8 candidate under the 11-party alliance, was subjected to an egg attack during a program in Dhaka’s Ramna area around noon. The incident occurred at Habibullah Bahar College around 12:15 pm when he arrived to attend a ‘Pitha Utsob’ program.
