Gone are the days of fearing Prothom Alo, Daily Star, says Patwary as NCP slams report on seat sharing

National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary has dismissed a Prothom Alo report claiming the party sought 20 seats and cabinet positions from the BNP, saying gone are the days of fearing Prothom Alo and The Daily Star.

"I would like to say to Moti Bhai of Prothom Alo: either you do journalism or you do politics. If needed, we will nominate you from the NCP, but please stop this kind of pseudo-journalism," Patwary said in a statement today (5 November).

NCP leader Hasnat Abdullah shared Patwary's statement on his verified Facebook page, which was also shared by other party leaders, including Tasnim Jara.

The post reads, "The claim about 20 seats and three ministerial positions is completely false and fabricated. The days of fearing Prothom Alo and The Daily Star are over."

Meanwhile, the NCP has issued a rejoinder to the Prothom Alo report, published today (5 November) titled "NCP seeks 20 seats and cabinet share from BNP".

In a statement, the party's Joint Member Secretary and Media Cell Editor Mushfiq-us-Salehin said, "The report is entirely baseless and motivated. The NCP has not held any discussion or taken any decision regarding any alliance, seat-sharing, or power-sharing with any political party. No such proposal has ever been adopted in the party's policymaking council."

"The NCP believes that the future politics of the country should be based on people's rights, accountability, reform, and democratic reconstruction," the statement said, adding, "With that goal, the party is conducting organisational activities and candidate selection processes across the country."

It further said, "The so-called 'source' mentioned in the report is entirely speculative and contrary to the basic principles of journalism. It has misled the public and tarnished the image of the party. The NCP calls upon Prothom Alo to issue a public apology and publish a correction immediately."

"We reiterate that the NCP has not made any demand to any party for seats or participation in the cabinet," the statement concluded.