Jatiya Nagorik Committee’s (NCP) Northern Regional Chief Organizer, Sarjis Alam, has issued a stern warning and raised pointed questions regarding the recent interrogation of NCP and BNP leaders by the military in Rangpur.

The interrogations followed an attack on the residence of Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader late Saturday night.

In a Facebook post titled “Rangpur and the Awami League’s B-Team: The Jatiya Party Issue”, which quickly gained traction with over 8,000 likes, 1,000 comments, and more than 100 shares within 20 minutes, Sarjis accused the military of selectively targeting opposition figures while ignoring the root causes of the incident.

Sarjis criticized the recent mobilization by the Jatiya Party—allegedly with support from the ruling Awami League, its student and youth wings—aimed at reinstating former mayor Mostafa, whom he referred to as “illegally elected multiple times.” He accused the Jatiya Party of acting as the “B-Team” of the Awami League, claiming they have historically posed as an opposition force while secretly benefiting from power through backdoor negotiations with the government and even foreign allies such as India.

He added that while the BNP and Jamaat had boycotted what they saw as a farcical election, enduring significant repression as a result, the Jatiya Party had exploited the opportunity to portray itself as an opposition force while helping to legitimize the Awami League’s grip on power.

Sarjis alleged that just two days earlier, GM Quader had returned to Rangpur and began organizing politically charged gatherings with local Jatiya Party and Awami League affiliates. In response, a coalition of anti-fascist protestors launched a peaceful demonstration against him. According to Sarjis, Jatiya Party activists instigated violence by attacking the protest march, which was later followed by the burning of a motorcycle outside Quader’s residence.

Sarjis sharply criticized the military’s reaction to the incident. “They treated the burning of an old motorcycle as a matter of the highest national security and launched the largest operation in Rangpur in nine months,” he wrote. He noted that leaders from the BNP’s metropolitan and district chapters, along with key figures from the NCP, were summoned and interrogated.

Sarjis stated that while he had no objection to interrogations themselves, he questioned the military’s priorities:

“Why did they not look into the chain of events that led to this incident? Why haven’t they launched similar operations over the past nine months to arrest known Awami League-backed criminals? How many murderers have been detained? How many raids have been conducted to recover public assets seized by pro-government thugs?”

He further challenged the military’s impartiality by questioning why no similar operations had been conducted against Mayor Mostafa—whom he accused of corruption and turning the Rangpur City Corporation into a “den of looters”—or against those Jatiya Party activists who allegedly initiated the attack on peaceful protestors.

In closing, Sarjis emphasized that the people of Bangladesh still hold the military in high regard, but he called for transparency and neutrality in their conduct:

“We still respect the Bangladesh Army. But we now demand that they clearly state their position in the fight against fascism. If the banned Awami League and its affiliated terrorist wings attempt to return under the guise of their B-Team, the Jatiya Party, such efforts will be resisted and defeated.”