National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Organiser (Northern Region) Sarjis Alam on Wednesday said the BNP will gradually become irrelevant in Bangladesh if it fails to break away from its “old practices, habits and mindset”.

“If the BNP fails to break away from its old character, ingrained habits and mindset, its politics will gradually become irrelevant in Bangladesh,” he said while talking to journalists after an organisational coordination meeting and political workshop organised by the NCP's Bhola district unit at the Bhola District Council auditorium, UNB reports. 

Sarjis also said the BNP will find it difficult to remain in power for the next five years if it continues with such practices and fails to implement the mandate of the July Mass Uprising.

Speaking about the Awami League and the BNP, he alleged that the Awami League was responsible for “murder, autocracy and genocide”, and said its chapter in Bangladesh has ended.

He said criticism of the BNP, however, will continue if it engages in extortion, land grabbing, attempts to seize police stations or oppression of people. “We will speak out against that too. Yet, we will not equate the BNP with the Awami League,” he said.

Sarjis said the NCP is not satisfied with the BNP's activities over the past six months, alleging that the party is gradually going off track through “abuse of power, politicisation of different sectors and nepotism”.

He also alleged that viva marks have been increased by as much as 400 percent in some cases to favour candidates seeking government jobs under what he described as a “BNP quota” after passing preliminary and written examinations.

The NCP leader said the BNP's methods were outdated and urged the party to abandon such practices.

He warned that street protests will be intensified if the BNP fails to change its approach.

Earlier in the day, Sarjis arrived in Bhola from Barishal. He attended the coordination meeting and workshop with local NCP leaders as the chief guest and gave strategic guidance to party activists.