National Citizens Party (NCP) convener and opposition chief whip Md Nahid Islam has called for official recognition of madrasa students’ contributions to the July movement and other anti-fascist protests. Speaking on Monday at a seminar titled “The Bloody Robe of July: Contribution of Madrasa Students” at the BMA Bhaban auditorium in Dhaka, he said madrasa and private university students revived the movement when it had slowed on July 17–18. He urged the government to honor madrasa students’ sacrifices at the national level.

Nahid Islam criticized the home minister’s comment that July should not be commercialized, arguing that the movement represented aspirations for change. He accused the ruling Awami League of undermining democracy and exploiting the spirit of the Liberation War. He also claimed that the July movement’s outcomes benefited the BNP disproportionately, while his party was left with responsibility but no power.

He demanded immediate implementation of promised reforms, asserting that the recent election was unconstitutional and that the government must interpret post-August 5 developments through the people’s revolutionary aspirations for a new Bangladesh.