Hasina escaped to India, where will Tarique go? asks Nasiruddin

Jatiya Nagorik Party’s (NCP) Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari has stated that if BNP refuses to walk the path of reform, it is heading toward political extinction.

“Sheikh Hasina has managed to flee India — but where will Tarique Rahman escape?” he asked.

He made the remarks on Monday (November 10) at a discussion titled “Political Marginalisation of the Working Class in the July Charter,” organized by Jatiya Sramik Shakti at Banglamotor in the capital.

Patwari cautioned that if reforms and July Charter are not implemented and the national election is delayed, responsibility will fall on both the ruling and opposition camps. “If the government sides with any particular party, NCP will take to the streets with the families of martyrs,” he warned.

Urging BNP to abandon its old political patterns, the NCP leader said, “ NCP does not want to see a single-party dominance in the next parliament. Replacing one fascist with another has no meaning. If BNP refuses reform, it will simply walk the path of self-destruction. Sheikh Hasina has fled to India — but where will Tarique Rahman go?”

Patwari also warned that “playing the cards of the Liberation War or martyrdom” to establish new authoritarian control would not be tolerated.

He accused certain factions within major parties of nurturing new forms of fascism: “Just as Mujib’s circle of corrupt loyalists led the country toward dictatorship, some people around Tarique are now doing the same, chanting ‘Tarique Bhai, Tarique Bhai.’ But Generation Z knows how to appreciate — and how to correct — their leaders.”

Declaring his party’s accountability to the people, Patwari said, “BNP once struggled to find candidates. Today, some celebrities have become brand ambassadors for the paddy-sheaf, just as they once were for the boat. But for us, the people matter more than the vote. The people’s victory will come — either through a ballot revolution or a bullet revolution.”

He criticized the leftist parties for abandoning the labor movement: “The so-called pro-worker parties have forgotten their cause. The Labor Commission’s reports remain unimplemented, and those who once raised red flags for workers’ rights are now trading their ideals for a few parliamentary seats.”

Calling for social protection for workers, Patwari said, “Laborers must be brought under a national safety net. Without securing their future, no reform will be complete.”

On foreign policy, he added, “We don’t want to be servants of any country or party. Bangladesh needs a foreign policy based on justice. Religious values must not be eroded through division or manipulation.”

Highlighting the crucial role of women in national movements, Patwari remarked, “Our mothers and daughters have played key roles in every uprising, yet their voices are missing in the reform process. A woman leader does not automatically make a country women-friendly.”

The NCP leader concluded by saying that true reform must reflect equality, justice, and participation — values that go beyond slogans or personalities.