Dhaka, Aug 20 — A fresh rift has emerged in the National Citizen Party (NCP) in Bangladesh as 15 leaders, including five joint coordinators and 10 members, resigned from the party’s Nakla Upazila Coordination Committee in Sherpur district, rejecting the recently formed body.
The disgruntled leaders alleged that the newly appointed chief coordinator, Humayun Kabir Akash, is “incompetent, unethical, and socially unacceptable.” At a press conference in Nakla Upazila, they declared their collective resignation, denouncing the committee’s legitimacy.
In a statement, the leaders said: “The chief coordinator is accused of taking money from families of those killed in last year’s July protests. His qualifications are questionable. Given these serious allegations, we cannot continue in this committee.”
Joint Coordinator Mominul Islam Arab told local media outlet Jugantor that the decision was unanimous among five joint coordinators and 10 committee members.
The Nakla Upazila Coordination Committee, endorsed on August 10 by NCP Central Convening Committee Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain and Northern Region Chief Organiser Sarjis Alam, had announced a 32-member body, with Akash as Chief Coordinator, 10 joint coordinators, and 21 members.
Reacting to the resignations, Alamgir Kabir, coordinator of NCP’s Sherpur district unit, said, “I saw the resignation post on Facebook. The district committee will meet, evaluate the matter, and then decide.”
The turmoil underscores growing internal friction in the NCP, a party formed earlier this year by student leaders, including Nahid Islam, a controversial figure from the Student Against Discrimination platform. Nahid and his allies were key organisers of the July 2024 protests, which had sought to topple the Awami League government led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in collaboration with Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and other opposition groups.