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Five central leaders of the National Citizen Party on Thursday responded to the show-cause notices served on them for their recent Cox’s Bazar trip.

‘In view of the show-cause notices, the leaders have submitted their responses to the party convener and member secretary. The convener and member secretary will take decisions on the matter later,’ NCP joint member-secretary Saleh Uddin Sifat said.

NCP chief organiser for the south Hasnat Abdullah on Thursday responded to the show-cause notice, saying that the Cox’s Bazar trip was a ‘silent protest’ against the incomplete July Declaration.

He said that the show-cause notice was served arbitrarily.

The NCP on Wednesday served show-cause notices on its five central leaders as they went to Cox’s Bazar on a personal trip on Tuesday,  the day when the nation was celebrating the first anniversary of the July mass uprising, without informing the party’s ‘political council’.

The five leaders are the party’s chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary, chief organiser for the north Sarjis Alam, chief organiser for the south Hasnat Abdullah, joint convener Khalid Saifullah, and senior joint member secretary Tasnim Jara.

Hasnat stated that he did not attend the official declaration event at the Parliament Building because many injured and frontline leaders of the uprising were completely excluded from the ceremony.

‘The families of martyrs, the injured, and many frontline leaders were not given a chance to share their input. They were not even accorded the minimum respect of inclusion. This deeply pained many of us,’ wrote Hasnat in his response, which he also posted on his Facebook page.

About the July Declaration announcement event, he wrote, ‘This was not just a political misstep but a moral failure. So, I decided not to attend the event. Instead of unity, it prioritised the opinions and narratives of a handful of groups over those of the martyrs and injured. I felt no desire or obligation to be present.’

‘Therefore, I chose to leave Dhaka the next day (August 5)….It was also a silent protest against the incomplete July Proclamation,’ he added.

‘The purpose was to reconsider previously made decisions at this crucial time, try to understand recent events, and consider what to do next,’ he added.

In the explanation, he said that he tried to contact the party convener, Nahid Islam, but failed to reach him on August 4 night and he told the party chief coordinator, Nasiruddin Patwary, to inform him about the travel plan.

‘About thirty minutes later, I was told that the convener had been informed and approved the trip. Later, Nasiruddin Patwary, along with Sarjis Alam and Tasnim Jara–Khalid Saifullah couple, joined me,’ he wrote.

He stated that some media and intelligence agencies attempted to present the young leaders’ every move as crime and suspicious and spread rumour about a secret meeting with Peter D Haas, a former US ambassador to Bangladesh.

He also mentioned that an online ‘slut shaming’ campaign was launched virtually against female leader Tasnim Jara.

‘I think our party should have taken strong action against this intelligence agency and the dishonest media. Instead, the party has served show-cause notices on us in a language that has fuelled false accusations and conspiracy theories,’ he added.

‘In any political organisation, a show-cause notice is issued for violating a specific provision of the constitution or bylaws. There is no mention of such a thing in the show-cause notice given to me, because I have not violated any rule of the party,’ he wrote.

The show-cause notices, signed by the party joint member-secretary Saleh Uddin Sifat on Wednesday, asked the five leaders to appear before Nahid and Akhter in person in 24 hours to submit their written explanation about their decision and background to visit Cox’s Bazar on the day of the state’s importance.

The five senior NCP leaders’ visit to Cox’s Bazar on August 5 created controversy over whether they avoided joining the July Declaration ceremony in Dhaka on the first anniversary of the July uprising.

As the senior NCP leaders were staying at a Cox’s Bazar hotel, a rumour spread fast that they were holding a meeting with former United States ambassador to Bangladesh, Peter D Haas, although the former diplomat was not staying in Bangladesh.

The National Citizen Party was launched in February this year by a group of student and youth leaders who led the July uprising to oust the Awami League regime on August 5, 2024.