Jamaat, NCP urge CA Yunus to ban Jatiyo Party
NCP also called for appropriate measures against those who influenced the last three elections
The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) have sought a ban on the organisational activities of the Jatiyo Party, following separate meetings with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna today (31 August).
Jamaat-e-Islami said the Jatiyo Party can be banned just like the Awami League, and the NCP echoed the same, calling for effective action against the party.
"The Jatiyo Party was an ally of the Awami League," Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Syeed Abdullah Muhammad Taher told the media following a meeting with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus today (31 August).
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"We have told the chief adviser that just as a decision has been taken regarding the Awami League, a similar decision could also be taken regarding the Jatiyo Party," he said.
In a separate meeting with the CA, the NCP demanded action against Jatiyo Party over its alleged involvement in legitimising three illegal elections.
"The July Charter notes that the Jatiyo Party took part in legitimising three illegal elections. The election posters of their two current secretaries-general even listed them as Awami League nominees," Ariful Islam Adib, senior joint convener of NCP, told reporters after the meeting.
"This highlights that the Awami League and the Jatiyo Party are the same. For this reason, we have called for effective action against the Jatiyo Party by suspending its organisational activities," the NCP leader said.
The party called for appropriate measures against those who influenced the last three elections.
Why the calls to ban Jatiyo Party?
Yesterday, Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman stated that the call for a ban on the Jatiyo Party is "valid" and that he would "examine the legal grounds" for such an action.
Recently, the calls to ban the Jatiyo Party as the facilitator of the Awami League in their authoritarian regime from 2009 to 2024 have gained much steam. It came to public attention after activists from Gono Odhikar Parishad, including the president Nurul Haque Nur, were beaten during a protest demanding the ban.
There have been incidents of attacks on the Jatiyo Party office after 5 August 2024.
The latest attack came on 30 August, when the Jatiyo Party office in Kakrail was vandalised and even set on fire.
The situation prompted the Chief Advisor to hold talks. The protests highlight the widespread public resentment and the perception of the Jatiyo Party as an obstacle to democratic reform.
