Sarjis, Hasnat take flak at NCP meet

National Citizen Party leaders Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah came under intense scrutiny at a key party meeting on Friday over allegations of breaching party discipline, said sources.

Allegations of financial irregularities were also raised against another top leader, Gazi Salahuddin Tanvir, during the closed-door general meeting held at the NCP's temporary central office in Rupayan Trade Center in the capital's Banglamotor area.

In response, the less-than-two-month-old party decided to form a "discipline and investigation" committee to address the allegations and uphold internal discipline.

Requesting anonymity, at least three leaders of NCP, who know the developments, confirmed to The Daily Star that, during the nine-hour-long meeting, the allegations against Chief Organiser (North) Sarjis, Chief Organiser (South) Hasnat, and Joint Member Secretary Tanvir dominated the discussions.

They said, referring to various allegations swirling against the three leaders on social media, participants raised concerns about Sarjis's perceived lavish lifestyles, extravagant motorcade in his locality in March, alleged financial irregularities involving Tanvir, and repeated instances of sensitive party matters being aired publicly on social media by Hasnat and Sarjis.

Sarjis and Hasnat also faced criticism for independently taking positions on various issues and allegedly "dealing" with matters without prior party consultation.

In response, Sarjis defended himself, saying his family bore the cost of his motorcade and that his lifestyle was "nothing new". He said he sometimes rents luxury cars for security reasons and claimed that most of the social media allegations were exaggerated.

Hasnat, for his part, denied all accusations and said he would resign if any allegation could be proven. He maintained that his controversial Facebook post about a meeting with army personnel had already been clarified and did not warrant further explanation.

Both leaders alleged that they were being targeted by vested quarters aiming to discredit the NCP. They claimed that they had helped numerous people following the July uprising without any financial gain.

They claimed that many people want to take photos with them when they visit places across the country. However, if allegations later arise against those individuals, people tend to associate them with the wrongdoers, they said.

On April 9, the two leaders met with Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Abdul Momen and submitted written complaints against unknown individuals. Later, Hasnat described the meeting as a personal initiative unrelated to the party.

No direct allegations of financial misconduct were raised against Sarjis or Hasnat in the meeting, the sources said.

However, concerns regarding "financial irregularities" by Gazi Salahuddin Tanvir were discussed. Tanvir denied the accusations and said he would welcome any investigation.

According to party sources, the NCP leadership agreed to draft a social media usage policy to prevent further controversies.

"We agreed on principle about prioritising party over person," a joint convener of NCP told The Daily Star. "A decision was also taken to discuss issues related to the party on the party forum before making any statements online."

The meeting, chaired by NCP Convener Nahid Islam and moderated by Member Secretary Akhter Hossen, also addressed organisational matters.

It decided to take steps to meet the Election Commission's registration requirements within the next month, formulate the party's future programmes, and finalise state reform proposals.

NCP has divided the country into 19 organisational zones to facilitate party activities across 64 districts.

The meeting decided that district committees will consist of 31 to 51 members, and upazila committees will have between 21 and 41 members. The minimum age for a convener will be 40.

A press release issued after the meeting said the party discussed ongoing global issues, including the Israeli violence in Gaza, India's Waqf act protests, and domestic ones such as trial for Awami League men who took part in killings during last year's uprising, border killings and rising commodity prices.

The new "discipline and investigation" committee will be formally constituted today, the release added.

Meanwhile, the party's Dhaka city unit is set to launch protests this week, pressing for the trial of Awami League members over the July killings, state reforms, and the formation of a constituent assembly.