BNP senior leader Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan on Saturday warned that if the transition to democracy is delayed further, the people of Bangladesh will rise up again. “I urge the interim government, you please, do not prolong the path to democratic transition. If you do, the people of Bangladesh will rise again,” he said while addressing a discussion. Dr Moyeen, a member of the BNP Standing Committee, said the people of Bangladesh fought for independence in 1971 because they knew democracy could never flourish under Pakistan's rule. He reminded the government that the people and pro-democracy political parties of Bangladesh have been struggling for the past fifteen to sixteen years to restore democracy. “Has that expectation been fulfilled? No… not even in the past one year. Why not? We have seen examples in the past where fair and neutral elections were held within 90 days. We have that precedent right before our eyes,” the BNP leader said. The Revolutionary Workers Party organised the discussion titled ‘Looking Back at Bloody July–August: Expectations and Realities’ at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) auditorium. Dr Moyeen questioned why, even after one full year, the country has not been able to move forward in its democratic transition. “I often fear whether this new arrangement may turn into a permanent one. We want change, but not all change is true change. Back in 1/11, we saw banners and festoons across Dhaka calling to change everything, to overhaul everything. But not everything in the world can or should be changed,” he said. The BNP leader said when many people talk about change it should not be changed for the sake of change. “When we talk about reforms, I say reforms must not be superficial. Cosmetic changes will not change the fate of 180 million people. You may amend a few lines of the Constitution—or even rewrite the whole document—but it won’t matter unless the hearts of the people who run this country change,” he observed. Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque said while caretaker governments in the past could hold elections within three months, even after one year has passed, citizens still lack confidence in whether a free and fair national election can be held under the current situation in the country. “We did not anticipate that the current government would let the entire situation spiral out of control like this. Inequality has not been reduced — it has spread even further. Poverty has increased, the number of people going without food has gone up, unemployment has risen, and the overall investment climate has reached a negative point,” he said. Amid this bleak outlook, Haque pointed to one piece of seemingly good news — that the United States reduced its tariff on Bangladeshi goods from 35 percent to 20 percent. “But we don’t know what was exchanged in return. We don’t know what Bangladesh had to offer. If the deal involved any compromises that could pose a risk to our future security, the government must bring it before the public and inform the nation. They should disclose what political factors played a role behind this tariff reduction and present the facts to the people,” he said. Haque warned that the longer the election is delayed, the greater the risk of security threats both inside and outside Bangladesh.

Police have submitted a chargesheet to court accusing three former Awami League ministers, two ex-city mayors, and eight former MPs over the death of a shop employee during the anti-discrimination movement in Chattogram. A total of 232 people, including the city Awami League president and 26 former ward councillors, have been named as accused in the case filed over the incident in Bahaddarhat on Aug 3, 2024. Although the chargesheet was filed on Wednesday, the matter became public on Saturday. Chandgaon Police Station chief Aftab Uddin told bdnews24.com that those named were found to be “involved” based on the investigation. This is the first chargesheet among 151 cases filed over deaths and injuries in the student-led mass movement in Chattogram. The chargesheet names former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud, former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhoury Nowfel, former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, and former mayors AJM Nasir Uddin and Rezaul Karim Chowdhoury. Among the ex-MPs accused are Abu Reza Muhammad Nezamuddin Nadvi, ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, M Abdul Latif, SM Al Mamun, Abdus Salam, Mohiuddin Bachchu, Didarul Alam Didar, and Noman Al Mahmud. The chargesheet claims that to suppress the “legitimate movement”, the Awami League and its associate bodies -- including Bangladesh Chhatra League, Jubo League, Sramik League, and Krishok League -- held armed rallies in Chattogram city and surrounding districts. “Acting on instructions from senior leaders, party activists and cadres launched armed attacks on the student protesters,” it read. The victim, Shahidul, had joined the protest from afternoon until evening after finishing work, according to the chargesheet. Case documents say Shahidul was shot near Bahaddar Pukur Par around 7:25pm while returning home from the market. Bystanders took him to Park View Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. His body was later transferred to Chattogram Medical College Hospital, where the death certificate confirmed gunshot wounds as the cause. Police later conducted an inquest and sent the body for postmortem examination. On Aug 19, Shahidul’s brother Shafiqul Islam filed a murder case naming eight people and listing 300–400 unnamed suspects. Nearly a year later, Sub-Inspector Md Faisal of Chandgaon police submitted the chargesheet to court on Wednesday. Citing the CID forensic report, the chargesheet said the pellets were fired from a shotgun, pistol, or locally made firearm. The postmortem report noted damage to the heart, lungs, stomach, and other internal organs.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam today urged the interim government to hold the 13th national parliamentary polls based on the July Charter. “The interim government must take a decision regarding the July charter...We will not leave the task of reform solely to the elected government,” he said at an urgent press conference at the party’s temporary central office here. In this connection, the NCP convener categorically said that the next election must be held based on the July Charter and the next parliament must be formed accordingly. He, however, said that the July Declaration must receive constitutional recognition. Nahid called upon the government to take decisions regarding July charter by August 5 as the government has decided to announce the July Declaration on August 5. “Although fascism has fallen, the fascist state structure still exists,” Nahid said adding, “We demand full announcement of the July Charter by August 5.” He further said, “We welcome the government’s move to finalize the July Declaration but by August 5, there must also be a resolution regarding the July Charter”.  “Consensus has already been reached on most of its points…We will only sign it once the implementation mechanism is ensured, and it must have legal validity,” he added. Outlining the party’s upcoming programme, Nahid announced that the NCP will unveil the Manifesto of a New Bangladesh at a public rally at the Central Shaheed Minar at 4:00 PM tomorrow (Sunday). He warned against any misuse of the July aspirations, saying, “Anyone who exploits the name of July to serve ill motives or commit misdeeds must be held accountable.”