National Citizen Party Ramps Up Pressure on Government with Street Protests
The National Citizen Party (NCP) is increasing its efforts to challenge the government. It plans to put pressure on the government both in parliament and through street programs. The party will organize its own events and join an 11-party alliance.
The NCP focuses on three main areas. These include questioning government decisions in parliament. They also want to be active on the streets with the alliance. Finally, they aim to make their own organization stronger. The goal is to hold the government accountable for its actions. They also want to build public opinion on important issues.
The 11-party alliance will begin a series of long marches soon. The first march will travel from Dhaka to Chattogram on September 5. More marches will go to Rangpur on September 19, Khulna on October 10, and Sylhet on October 24. All these events will lead to a big rally in Dhaka on November 14.
NCP leaders say they want to send a clear message to the government from the Dhaka rally. Their next steps will depend on the government’s response. The NCP will also hold its own separate programs at local levels.
The party leaders admit the NCP is not yet strong enough to hold very large protests alone. For this reason, they work closely with the 11-party alliance. At the same time, the NCP is working to build its own structure. They are forming new committees at different levels of the party.
The NCP also wants to become an independent political force in the future. They are preparing for upcoming local government elections. The party plans to put forward candidates in many upazilas, municipalities, and union parishads. They have already announced candidates for five city corporations and 100 upazilas and municipalities. This will help them grow their presence among the people.
Six months have passed since the BNP government took office on August 17. The NCP held a press conference to review the government’s performance. They discussed law and order, fuel supplies, prices of goods, the economy, jobs, and reforms. The NCP believes more effective actions are needed in these areas.
A central NCP leader said they tried to cooperate with the government at first. They focused on parliamentary talks due to the country’s economic situation. Now, after six months, the party feels it must be more active. This includes more action in parliament and on the streets.
Ariful Islam Adeeb, NCP Senior Joint Convener, confirmed their position. He said the NCP wants to hold the government accountable as an opposition party. They will do this through speeches in parliament and programs on the streets.
