Jamaat not a reliable ally, seat-sharing will make NCP pay a heavy price, says Samantha Sharmin
According to her, a shared position on these three issues is a prerequisite for any political alliance, which she said Jamaat does not meet. She also criticised Jamaat for what she described as attempts to obstruct reforms by demanding proportional representation in the lower house of parliament.
Samantha Sharmin, senior joint convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has warned that Jamaat-e-Islami is not a dependable political ally and that any seat-sharing arrangement with the party could make the NCP "pay a heavy price."
She made the remarks in a post on her Facebook page today (28 December), amid discussions over possible electoral seat negotiations.
"Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is not a reliable ally. I believe NCP will have to pay a heavy price for entering into any cooperation or understanding involving its political stance or philosophy."
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she wrote. She referred to recent comments by Jamaat leaders, who said any party could form an alliance with Jamaat if it agreed with what they described as the spirit of July and Jamaat's plans for Bangladesh. Samantha said the long-standing position of the NCP was fundamentally different from Jamaat's ideology.
She said the NCP was formed around the goals of justice, reforms, and a Constituent Assembly election to establish what it calls a Second Republic.
According to her, a shared position on these three issues is a prerequisite for any political alliance, which she said Jamaat does not meet. She also criticised Jamaat for what she described as attempts to obstruct reforms by demanding proportional representation in the lower house of parliament.
Referring to earlier remarks by the NCP convener, she said the party had taken the position that "an alliance is not even possible with those who are not in favor of reforms."
Samantha said that since the July march, the NCP leadership had announced plans to field single candidates in all 300 seats and had invited aspirants from across the country on the understanding that the party would contest the election independently.
She said her current position was consistent with the party's stance over the past one and a half years. Clarifying her remarks, Samantha said raising concerns about an alliance with Jamaat did not mean taking a position in favor of the BNP.
"Rather, I consider the long-expressed and widely praised position of the NCP on various issues to be correct, and I consider myself a soldier of this ideology. An alliance with either BNP or Jamaat is being formed by deviating from the organisational and political policies of the NCP," she concluded.
