Mahmudur Rahman Manna :

At last, the National Citizen Party (NCP) has hit the political arena with great uproar. This uproar means that, from its inception, the party has attracted widespread attention, particularly from the middle class in the capital. Many journalists from various media outlets have called me for comments. In response to their questions, I would like to begin today’s article with what I said.

Generally speaking, the more politics expands, the more it is discussed, and the more people engage with it, the clearer and purer politics becomes. In this sense, it is good news that the youth and student communities in this country are becoming active in politics.

The unique mass uprising of 2024 has changed people's mindset overnight. Before, people would criticize politics and couldn't stand politicians. A large group had formed under the banner of 'I hate politics.' However, shortly after 8 August, people started to realize that one must understand politics. An interim government was established, but it lacked any politicians, and many began to argue that this made the government weak.

In fact, politics is the driving force of society. Everything—economy, culture, education, literature—is governed by politics. Whether Shakib Al Hasan can play, whether a budget allocation is made, or whether a movie or play will be shown—all these decisions are made by politics. This is why these young students are actively participating in politics, and I see it as a positive sign. These students accomplished something at the end of last year that political parties, even after 15 years of joint movements, could not achieve.

Thanks to the students and youth. The bloody struggle against fascism is over. After immense sacrifice and suffering, we have won that fight. But that does not mean the struggle is over. Ahead lies another battle—the battle of building the country, building a new Bangladesh. But this battle is different. The first phase ended with a victory over fascism. Now, in the second phase, the battle to build the nation continues, a battle which was symbolized by the slogan of building a new Bangladesh. How will that country be built?

Here, the issue of reform has been raised. We all know that reform is a continuous process. Bangladesh, at 53 years old, is still not a place we can truly call livable. It has been a death valley. And none of those deaths are natural. From road accidents to disappearances, killings, crossfires, and 'Ainaghar'—nothing has been left out. We demand an end to these practices. We demand the guarantee of natural death. The 15 years of Awami rule were like a nightmare. People were not treated as humans. They had no right to speak. They had no right to vote, democracy was murdered. The so-called election process was a slave to Sheikh Hasina's will.

Those who committed these inhuman, anti-democratic crimes needed to be held accountable, and a new environment was needed—one that could create the foundation for democracy. This is why reform has been proposed. Reforms that will provide pace to the state and give people comfort and peace. Reforms that will make the voting process acceptable to all. Very carefully, with the light of knowledge, mistakes must be identified, and appropriate corrections must be made. It surely does not need to be stated that this struggle is different from the fight to overthrow dictatorship. Here, emotion is not most important. Decisions cannot be made with anger or rage. Knowledge and experience will lead us to where we want to go.

It is now firmly established without dispute that the July uprising was primarily spontaneous. The fascist regime had been ruthlessly suppressing the popular movement, and the spontaneous and courageous protest from students and the public was a response to that. That is why, when fascism was defeated, there was no defined leadership in the movement. After Sheikh Hasina’s defeat, a vacuum in governance was created, and this was being filled in whatever way possible. Later, we saw two schools of thought emerge—one radical (I will not call it revolutionary), and the other democratic or constitutional. This is why, after the power vacuum appeared, the Supreme Court was sought to fill it.

The students were in the radical camp. At this age, radicalism is often preferred. But after the radical camp achieved victory in the fight, it was the democratic or constitutional camp that became dominant in state-building. The students did not understand this for a long time. They either understood or did not understand, but they protested against several important government decisions, even launching movements against them. However, their movements were unsuccessful. And they could not have succeeded.

It has been nearly seven months since the formation of the interim government, and it seems that the conflict between these two ideologies has not been resolved. Students have voiced their opinions during the movement and afterward and have frequently criticized the government. The government might have been embarrassed by this, but we have seen that they handled these criticisms strategically without providing a resolution. Or perhaps the government has some other strategy.

On 28 February, when the committee announced its formation, the newly formed political party NCP declared the creation of the second republic and stated its intention to call a constitutional assembly meeting for its establishment.

When they were the Jatiya Nagorik Committee or coordinating the student movement, they had made similar statements. They certainly have the right to say so. Every political party has its own thoughts on the country and its politics. However, the objective of all political-economic programmes should be nation-building and the welfare of the people. Such programmes must be easy to understand and easily implementable for the people.

We are at a critical juncture in history, where the return to democracy and making it sustainable is the most important issue. As Professor Muhammad Yunus has said, national consensus is necessary for reforms. I believe that it is the responsibility of responsible political parties to walk the path of consensus now and avoid division.

Although the NCP is a political party formed by young people, I hope that they will be responsible players in the political field. But for that, they must act responsibly. To overcome the current crisis, sensible work must be done. But if they bring or create new controversies, who will resolve them?
BNP’s standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed has raised the question, why the second republic? According to him, “Those raising the issue of the constituent assembly, those raising the issue of the second republic, either they do not understand it or, understanding it, they are conspiring to prolong our undemocratic system.”

In the meantime, the Constitution Reform Commission has presented its proposal, which has been presented to the nation. Clearly, their proposal does not include the issue of the second republic or the constituent assembly. Is the NCP planning to enter politics based on this stance? Does it intend to bring politics into focus based on this debate? Does it consider this to be the most important issue in solving the current crisis of democracy in the country?