NCP proclamation calls for building second republic through new constitution

The freshly launched student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) would work to build a second republic in Bangladesh by removing all constitutional provisions that allow dictatorial rule, as per the party’s proclamation announced by its chief Nahid Islam on Friday evening.

Last year’s mass uprising against Awami League’s autocratic rule launched the fight for building a second republic and to this end, NCP, upon being elected, will form a constituent assembly for writing a new constitution, he said.

The process will ensure the establishment of a truly democratic country based on “equality” and “human dignity”, Nahid said.

In the second republic, a strong military would be built to defend national interests. All the political, social, economic and cultural organisations would be rebuilt to ensure their democratic status, Nahid continued.

The proclamation starts with a reference to the thousand-year-old history of Bangladesh. In the course of history, a unique and rich culture has developed in the Bengal delta.

However, in modern times, the people of the land have suffered repeated setbacks in meeting their rights. The British ruled for nearly 200 years and then, the independent Pakistan state failed to free the country from repression and discrimination, leading to the birth of another new country in 1971.

During the 1971 Liberation War, over a lakh people shed their blood but still, the people had to repeatedly fight for their democratic rights.

Over five decades after becoming independent, a political system is still absent to ensure democracy, equality, human dignity and social justice.

The uprising in July-August last year ended a 15-year autocratic regime, but the movement did not aim to simply replace one government with another.

Rather, over a thousand embraced martyrdom to erase all the fascist elements that have been entrenched in the state apparatus.

NCP has been formed with this very goal: to realise people’s aspirations for rebuilding the country.

NCP promotes a new political culture where unity will replace divisions at all levels of society, justice will replace vengeance, merit and qualification will replace family-centric politics, and there will be no place for corruption or nepotism.

In society, the marginalised will be brought into the mainstream, and all the citizens will get the same priority.

Every citizen will be protected against corruption, discrimination and power abuse, while their democratic and basic rights will be strongly defended.

A diverse and prosperous society will be built through the preservation of all kinds of values be it historic, social, religious or cultural.

A self-reliant and equitable economy will be developed where wealth will not concentrate in the hands of a select few but rather adequately distributed among all the people.

The interests of consumers and the masses will be protected through effective checks on the market syndicates and vested interests of the private sector.

Regional cooperation and international partnerships will be ensured for developing a powerful state in South Asia.

Last but not least, innovation and scientific research will be prioritised for developing a sustainable and modern economy.

The NCP leaders strongly believe the July-August uprising not only paved the way for winning against a fascist regime but also for taking an oath to rebuild the future, they said in the party proclamation.

In the proclamation’s concluding remarks, the party calls on everyone in the country to join hands and resolutely march forward together building a new country where the goal of politics will be to only echo the voices of every citizen, and establish fairness as well as people’s rights.