July Charter will be 'fraud and farce with the nation' without legal foundation, warns NCP
Nahid Islam insisted that only Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, who took charge at the call of the students and mass people during the uprising, possesses the moral authority to grant the charter legal validity
The much-anticipated July National Charter will be reduced to a mere formality and constitute an act of "public fraud and farce with the nation" if it is not given legal footing, Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has warned.
Speaking at an emergency press conference at the NCP's office in Dhaka today (18 October), Nahid stressed that for such a vital document that intends to change the Constitution, legal validity is indispensable, not just political consensus.
"Constitutional legitimacy, beyond mere consensus, is mandatory for critical issues like constitutional change. The July Charter must be given a legal basis to reflect the sovereign will of the people. Only then will this initiative be meaningful; otherwise, it will be considered public deception," he asserted.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Nahid also contested the authority needed to legalise the charter, arguing that President Mohammed Shahabuddin is not a figure of the July Uprising and that any constitutional order with him as signatory would lack moral acceptance among the people.
He insisted that only Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, who took charge at the call of the students and mass people during the uprising, possesses the moral authority to grant the charter legal validity.
Meanwhile, NCP Member Secretary Akhter Hossen read out from a written statement that the NCP did not attend the July National Charter's signing ceremony for three reasons: the failure to secure the charter's legal foundation, the disrespectful treatment of the martyrs' families and injured "July Warriors," and a lack of clarity in the decisions made by the National Consensus Commission.
"We do not want the aspirations of the people to be betrayed again, as they were after the 1990 Bangladesh mass uprising," Nahid stated.
He emphasised that the NCP's fight was not against Sheikh Hasina or the Awami League, but a democratic movement against the "fascist state structure".
Then, Akhter, in his reading, added that without a legal framework, the July Charter would simply become a "piece of political compromise paper," contrary to the spirit of the July Uprising.
In response to a question, Nahid also condemned the Election Commission for its alleged biased behaviour regarding their electoral symbol Shapla (Waterlily), warning that they would be forced to take to the streets if prevented from participating in the elections.
He also demanded that BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed apologise for his recent comments calling the July Warriors "accomplices of the fascist Awami League".
