The key principles of '71 remained elusive for 54 years: Akhter Hossen

The key principles of independence from 1971 — equality, human dignity and social justice — have remained elusive for 54 years, said Akhter Hossen, member secretary of National Citizens Party.

He made this comment while talking to reporters after paying tribute to the martyrs of 1971 at the National Memorial on behalf of the NCP this morning.

"We, the leaders and activists of the NCP, are committed to building the Bangladesh of equality, human dignity and social justice of 1971. NCP will continue to work to build that Bangladesh, and we have many proposals for the whole of Bengal, to see Bangladesh as a country that can stand tall in the world," he said.

He added, "To see Dhaka city as the head of the Global South — we are moving forward with many such dreams. In the current context of Bangladesh, we believe that there is a new constitutional reality. In view of that, we have talked about constituent assembly elections and at the same time, we have a proposal from our side that those who win the constituent assembly elections will play a role as members of parliament."

He further said that they have a commitment to truly instill middle-class politics in Bangladesh without going into the right-left divide. The NCP expects the support of people from all walks of life across the country so that they can make those commitments a reality.

He said, "We also expect that many people from all over the country want to join us, we are hopeful that the NCP will be able to expand its scope of work and reach all the districts and upazilas of the country in a short time."

At the same event, Nasir Uddin Patwari, chief coordinator of the NCP, said, "Many people are talking about the slogan 'Inqilab Zindabad'. We want to tell the whole of Bangladesh, the whole world, that the people of Bangladesh will write 'Inqilab Zindabad' across the whole sky, in sha Allah."

Nasir Uddin Patwari also reaffirmed plans for a constituent assembly, saying, "We are thinking anew about the constituent assembly elections that we have in the future, we need a new constitution, and we are also thinking about parliamentary bodies, and local elections too."