Leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) have threatened street protests against what they called a "politically motivated" inquiry by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) into NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, accusing the government of turning the anti-graft body into a partisan tool.

In a joint statement issued Monday evening, NCP convener Nahid Islam and member secretary Akhter Hossen said the commission's use of "rumours and politically motivated propaganda" spread by the banned Awami League to justify the probe proved the government had "unmistakably politicised" the ACC.

They alleged the ACC was being revived as a political weapon, reminiscent of the Awami League era, to tarnish the image of top leaders of the July uprising and suppress anti-fascist forces.

The NCP leaders claimed the ACC's inquiry against Asif Mahmud stemmed from "false and misleading" reports published by a "fly-by-night" online portal run by a leader of the now-banned Bangladesh Chhatra League, the Awami League's student wing.

"A commission that stages the drama of investigation based on baseless, imaginary reports fabricated by cadres of a banned student organisation cannot claim even a minimum of neutrality or moral standing," Nahid and Akhter said, adding that the exercise was designed to politically harass the architects of the mass uprising and pave the way for the return of "fascism."

The NCP said it stood ready to fully cooperate with any fair investigation, but only if the Anti-Corruption Commission were reconstituted as a genuinely independent and impartial body in line with the process outlined in the July Charter.

"If this unconstitutional and politicised commission, under the guise of a neutral probe, is turned into a tool to suppress the opposition and fighters of the July uprising, the NCP will never accept it," the two leaders said.

They urged the government to refrain from "following in the footsteps of the fallen fascists," calling for an immediate end to what they described as a conspiratorial campaign to target political opponents, and demanded the reconstitution of an independent, autonomous ACC in keeping with the spirit of the July Charter.

Failing that, Nahid and Akhter warned they would launch a "strong resistance movement" on the streets, joined by students and the public, against what they called the political abuse of power and a government "blueprint" against them.