Anti-July Campaign Poisoning the Country

NCP Member Secretary Akhter Hossen has said many people are taking positions against July through various tactics. He alleged that some are trying to poison the country against July by presenting themselves as film actresses, models, and senior journalists.

He made the remarks on Wednesday at a seminar titled ‘The Spirit of the July Mass Uprising, Implementation of the Referendum Verdict, and Trial of the July Massacre and Crimes Against Humanity’ at the IDB Auditorium in Kakrail, Dhaka.

Akhter Hossen said, "They appear on talk shows and speak as if they are exercising freedom of expression. But that is not the reality. They are manufacturing consent against July in different ways."

He called on the government to honor the referendum verdict and implement the Constitutional Reform Council. "The people of Bangladesh do not want to see any more bloodshed," he said. "They want to see the state's desired reform and transformation through a democratic process."

The NCP member secretary said, "In their parliamentary speeches, they (the ruling party) said they accept three and a half of the four referendum questions but reject the remaining half. We want to tell them that 70 percent of the people of Bangladesh endorsed all four questions by voting in favor of the referendum. Therefore, there is no scope to disregard any part of the people's verdict."

Addressing the BNP, the Rangpur lawmaker said, "You refuse to accept that the upper house will be formed under proportional representation (PR). You refuse to accept that the judiciary will operate independently and that judges will be appointed through a transparent process. You also reject a new formula for the caretaker government that would ensure participation from both the ruling party and the opposition. You reject transparent recruitment to the Public Service Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission. Then which part of the reform agenda are you willing to accept? We urge the government to swiftly implement the Constitutional Reform Council in line with the referendum verdict."