NCP learned about Hasnat-Sarjis' meeting with army chief after it happened: Nasiruddin

The meeting between Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman and National Citizen Party leaders Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam did not take place on behalf of the party, said Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari today (23 March).

"NCP only learned about the meeting between the army and Hasnat and Sarjis after it happened," he told a press conference at the party's office in Dhaka's Banglamotor this afternoon.

Either Sarjis or Hasnat is lying about their meeting with army chief: Hannan Masud

His clarification comes after Sarjis, the NCP chief organiser (north), in a Facebook post earlier today expressed "some disagreements" with the statements made by Hasnat, the NCP chief organiser (south), regarding their 11 March meeting with Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman.

In a Facebook post last Friday (21 March), Hasnat claimed that he and two others were presented with a plan to rehabilitate the ousted Awami League during a meeting at the Cantonment on 11 March. 

He alleged that they were offered seat sharing in exchange for accepting a proposal to bring back what was described as a "Refined Awami League," which he said is "entirely India's plan."

Sarjis in his post claimed the matter of a "Refined Awami League" was an opinion and not a proposal from the army chief's side.

"The way Hasnat observed and received the army chief's statement that day and wrote about it on Facebook differs somewhat from my perspective," he said, adding that "the way Hasnat's Facebook post portrayed the tone, I personally feel that the conversation was not that extreme".

Regarding their statements, Nasiruddin said, "Such remarks made without the consent of the other party are unwelcome. That meeting did not take place on behalf of the National Citizen Party.

"Although we were informed about the meeting afterwards, there has not yet been any party-level discussion on the matter. An official statement will be issued by the party after our discussion on Sunday night."

Urging the nation to view the mistakes of the party's leaders with a forgiving attitude, he claimed that "no division or discord within the NCP has developed" over this incident.

In response to a question, Nasiruddin said that there is no misunderstanding or distance among NCP leaders. "Movement and politics are two separate arenas. The students who led the mass uprising are now transitioning from activism to politics. Therefore, we urge the nation to view the mistakes during this period with tolerance and understanding."

Mentioning that people have high expectations of the NCP, he added, "We will continue to work to meet those expectations."

Sarjis' post came several hours after Netra News in a report said the Bangladesh Army denied the allegations made by Hasnat, where he claimed senior military officials pressured him and two others to accept a so-called "refined" faction of the Awami League.

In a statement shared with Netra News, the Army Headquarters acknowledged that General Waker met Hasnat and Sarjis on 11 March in Dhaka Cantonment. However, the army described Hasnat's assertions as "hilarious and an immature array of stories."

It also called Hasnat's post as "nothing but a complete political stunt," reports Netra News.