Ruling party creating ‘reign of terror’ in Bangladesh: Nasiruddin Patwary

Highlights:

• NCP accused the ruling party of being behind the attack on its leaders’ vehicles in Sylhet’s Golapganj Upazila.
• Nahid, Sarjis, and Mitu condemned the incident and alleged BNP and Chatradal activists were involved.
• The BNP denied the allegation, saying it had instructed its activists not to obstruct NCP programmes.

National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary today (30 July) accused the ruling party of creating a “reign of terror” in the country, alleging that its leaders were behind the attack on vehicles carrying NCP leaders in Sylhet’s Golapganj Upazila.

“Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed is working to carry out those directives,” he told reporters at Sylhet Circuit House.

His remarks came hours after NCP leaders alleged that their vehicles were attacked during a visit to Golapganj, where they had gone to meet families of those killed during the 2024 July Uprising.

Patwary also alleged that there was no rule of law in the country and that people were no longer safe.

Earlier in the day, vehicles carrying NCP leaders, including the party’s Northern Region Chief Coordinator Sarjis Alam, came under attack in Golapganj after protesters surrounded the vehicles, chanted slogans and allegedly hurled bricks, damaging one vehicle. Police intervened and helped the NCP leaders leave the area safely.

Following the attack, Sarjis Alam alleged in a Facebook post that BNP and Chatradal activists carried out the attack and vandalised their vehicles. BNP leaders, however, denied any involvement.

Speaking to reporters, NCP Joint Member Secretary and reserved-seat lawmaker Dr Mahmuda Mitu questioned whether Prime Minister Tarique Rahman wanted to kill the leaders of the 2024 July Uprising.

“Does Tarique Rahman want to kill the July fighters and young leaders of July [movement]? Like Sheikh Mujib killed JaSaD leaders, does he want to eliminate us and do politics alone?” she added.

Referring to the Golapganj incident, Mitu alleged that BNP and Chatradal activists were attacking NCP leaders while the prime minister, also the party chairman, remained silent.

“Attacks have been taking place for the past two days, but there has been no response from the BNP’s top leadership. No one has been expelled. Instead, they are telling the police to remain silent,” she alleged.

She further claimed the attack was aimed at killing NCP leaders, saying it was “centrally organised” by the BNP.

“Today, the way the glass was smashed, someone could have died on the spot. Another brick could have killed someone,” she added.

Sarjis Alam also alleged that Tarique Rahman was trying to turn Chatradal into a “killer force” like those used during ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule.

“We never thought Chatradal would be turned into such a force. Otherwise, we would have moved with protection,” he said, accusing police of standing by while the attack took place.

Meanwhile, NCP Convener Nahid Islam, also the opposition chief whip, criticised the attacks, saying incidents in Habiganj and Golapganj showed that the country was being pushed towards becoming a “haven for terrorism.”

Speaking after attending a discussion titled “Ognijhora July: Rokter Rin O Agamir Bangladesh” at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology this morning, Nahid said NCP would continue its programmes and would not back down from its demands for justice and reforms.

“We will go to Golapganj and stand there. Let us see how many terrorists there are,” he said.

He also alleged that the ruling party and its affiliated organisations were attacking NCP in the same way that “terrorists had attacked Khaleda Zia’s motorcade.”

Responding to the allegations, BNP Sylhet district President Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury denied the party’s involvement in the attack, saying BNP had instructed its leaders and activists not to obstruct any NCP programme.

He said BNP had adopted a “zero-tolerance” policy against creating obstacles to NCP activities and would cooperate to ensure political parties could carry out their programmes freely.