National Citizen Party (NCP) convener and opposition chief whip Nahid Islam has sharply criticized the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for allegedly contradicting its own position regarding the recent referendum.
Speaking as the chief guest at a joint meeting of the NCP’s district and city committees at College Road in Narayanganj on Saturday afternoon, Nahid Islam said, “The BNP participated in the referendum, and even the party chief supported it. Yet now, they are rejecting the referendum order citing the Constitution.”
He accused the BNP of double standards, citing a recent controversy involving a Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) over the proclaimer of Independence.
“According to our Constitution, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the declarer of the independence. No one can call Ziaur Rahman the herald of independence. They selectively respect the Constitution and this hypocrisy has become evident to the public,” he added.
Addressing the ruling party, Nahid Islam urged, “The government should promptly accept the referendum result and form a Constitutional Reform Council to implement all reforms. Any deviation from this process will not be accepted by the people and could create a political trust deficit, potentially escalating into street protests. We hope the matter will be resolved through Parliament.”
He also criticized the current government for allegedly following the same pattern of partisanship in Parliament that the Awami League had previously adopted, warning that continued disregard for constitutional norms could trigger further public demonstrations.