Mir Arshadul Haque, joint member secretary of the National Citizens Party (NCP) Central Committee, has left the party, stating that he won’t be able to achieve the promises of the July mass uprising.
“The days ahead for Bangladesh — the election and the post-election period — are going to be an extremely crucial time.
During this time, I want what’s good for the country, what will stabilize it and bring peace, what so many people gave their lives for in July — that vision of a transformed Bangladesh. Keeping all that in mind, I felt that I wouldn’t be able to achieve this from within the NCP,” he told Dhaka Tribune on Thursday, around 2:30pm.
At the same time, he has expressed his support for BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, stating that Tareque “at least has a vision for Bangladesh, sector by sector”.
Mir Arshadul Haque held several positions within the NCP: joint member secretary of the central committee, member of the Executive Council, member of the Media Cell and Discipline Committee, head of the Environment Cell, and chief coordinator of Chittagong Metropolitan. He had also received the party’s nomination to contest the upcoming parliamentary election from the Chittagong-16 constituency. He is a former vice president of the Dhaka University Journalists’ Association (DUJA).
During his student days, Mir Arshadul Haque was involved in campus journalism as well as various movements and protests. Following this trajectory, after the July mass uprising, he first joined the National Citizens’ Committee. When the young leaders of the uprising formed the NCP, he joined that as well.
On Thursday morning, the day Tarique Rahman returned from London after 17 years, Mir Arshadul announced his resignation from the NCP in a Facebook post. In the post titled “A Special Announcement,” he wrote: “I am resigning from the NCP at this moment. I will not be contesting the election from the Chittagong-16 parliamentary constituency (Banshkhali) on behalf of the NCP. I am making this announcement today on a special day—the day when Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP’s Acting Chairman Mr Tarique Rahman returns home after a long 17-year exile. Welcome back.”
