Mirza Abbas warns against ‘second republic’ slogan

BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas has advised people to be cautious about the “second republic” concept promoted by the National Citizen Party, or NCP.

“A new slogan has emerged recently. I won’t criticise it, but I urge you to be careful about it,” he said at an Iftar gathering in Dhaka’s Eskaton on Sunday.

Referring to recent media coverage, he said: “I saw it in the newspapers this morning. Even I don’t understand what it means. I still haven’t figured out what ‘second republic’ stands for or what they mean by ‘second independence’. I don’t know if you have understood it.”

He warned that efforts were being made to create division in the nation under a particular pretext, saying: “Please be aware of this. Once such a rift is created, foreign forces will exploit it to destabilise the country.”

The BNP organised the Iftar gathering for orphans, Islamic scholars, and clerics, with the party’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman joining virtually from London.

Several hundred children from Farmgate Islamia Mission Madrasa and Shantinagar Bazar Jatiya Muslim Madrasa attended the event.

Mirza Abbas cautioned that certain people wearing similar attire to the clerics present at the event were “fuelling” the slogan’s spread.

“Please try to handle this situation. In Sha Allah (God willing) under Tarique Rahman’s leadership, we will move Bangladesh forward together,” he added.