National

Islamic parties leave the negotiating table and take to the streets, why are the questions being raised?

Political parties have agreed on 84 reforms in the National Consensus Commission meeting. Discussions are now underway on the process of implementing the July Charter. In the meantime, several political parties including Jamaat, Islami Andolan, Khilafat Majlis are protesting with 5-point demands including implementation of the July Charter, elections through public relations system and trial of the genocide.
Do some religious parties including Jamaat-e-Islami want to get electoral benefits through this? Or is this just their strategy to put pressure on the government? Jamaat-e-Islami believes that the government is flexible towards BNP on various issues. That is why many of their demands are not given importance. Hence the party’s protest strategy. However, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Ghulam Parwar is reluctant to call it a strategy of seat sharing or taking advantage in the elections.
He said, we are seeing pressure on the commission from a particular party and we are disappointed again. That is why we are conveying our demands to the people. Let the people be aware, let the government listen, that is the reason for this protest. Everyone has the right to go to parliament, registered parties will hold elections, so why are you talking about division? If the people vote, they will go, if they don’t, they won’t go. That is why I have this counter-statement for those who say this and want to control our public relations movement.
Jamaat and Khilafat Majlis claim that 8 political parties agree with the 5 points. They will join the movement step by step. Khilafat Majlis Secretary General Abdul Quader said, some are confused, the movement should be done first, some think it should be done later. We are in favor of doing it first, those who agree with it are participating in the movement or will.
However, among the 8 parties, the names of the Jatiya Nagorik Party and the Ganadhikar Parishad have come up, but they are not with the declared movement program. The top leaders of the two parties say that although they support some demands, including banning the Jatiya Party, they are not in favor of the movement right now.
NCP Senior Joint Convener Samantha Sharmin said, they are giving this program in the lower house for public relations but at the field level. However, we do not agree in that case. However, we will say the parts that we agree on from our place in our own way. We will say it in our own language.
Rashed Khan, General Secretary of the People’s Rights Council, said, no decision has been made about participating in the movement and there has been no discussion on these five points. They say that anti-fascist unity will be destroyed in such a movement.
Rashed Khan said, by holding field level programs, putting pressure on the government, at the same time giving an opportunity to Awami fascism or giving an opportunity to India and making visible that there is a division among us. It would not be right to make this division visible at this moment.
According to Samantha Sharmin, trying to influence the discussion at the negotiating table with the field level manpower is not a democratic process. Meanwhile, in the discussion last Wednesday, the consensus commission proposed a referendum method and the issuance of a constitutional order to implement the July Charter.