Dhaka, Oct 29: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia on Wednesday slammed the interim government’s plan to implement the July Charter, aimed at institutionalising reforms in the wake of last year’s protests that ousted Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government, describing the move as “deception”.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the party was “astonished” to find that its dissenting notes were missing from the final report published by the National Consensus Commission on Wednesday.
He called the move a “deception” with both the people and political parties.
Alamgir demanded immediate reinstatement of BNP’s dissenting views into the Charter, warning that ignoring them would undermine the spirit of national unity.
The July Charter was intended to reflect the aspirations of agitators during the violent street protests, dubbed as “July Uprising”, which led to Hasina’s ouster in August last year. The document contains over 80 reform proposals for different sectors.
The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus later disbanded the Awami League’s activities under anti-terrorism laws, while the Election Commission suspended its registration, disqualifying it from contesting polls. In the absence of the Awami League, BNP has emerged as Bangladesh’s main political force.
The National Consensus Commission, chaired by Yunus, drafted the Charter in consultation with political parties and civil groups. BNP and several others signed the draft at a ceremony on October 17. However, the final version unveiled on Tuesday omitted dissenting opinions and recommended an implementation process, including a possible referendum.
Commission’s vice chairman and US-based political scientist Ali Riaz told the media that the panel urged the government to immediately issue a “charter implementation order” and hold a referendum to elicit people’s opinions on its recommendations.
BNP’s policy-making standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said the party is surprised at the Commission’s proposal that the Charter be “automatically incorporated into the Constitution” if not passed by Parliament within 270 days.
Ahmed, who represented BNP in a series of talks with the Commission, accused the National Consensus Commission of deepening divisions rather than forging unity.
“It seems the Consensus Commission, the (interim) government and two or three parties are on one side, while we were on the other (during the talks),” he said, describing the Commission report “a goal by the referee” instead of players.
Legal and constitutional experts have also voiced concern over the proposed implementation mechanism.
“If the outcome is predetermined, what is the purpose of discussion in parliament?” prominent jurist Swadhin Malik questioned.
He said the Charter contains 84 provisions, 48 of which relate directly to the Constitution and “if such a large and complex document is put to a referendum, how can ordinary citizens be expected to understand it and make an informed decision?”.
“This makes the proposal both confrontational and impractical,” Malik said.
Supreme Court lawyer Ahsanul Karim said the automatic implementation clause violates constitutional procedure, which requires a two-thirds majority for amendments.
The Daily Star newspaper reported that major political parties remain “deeply divided” over key aspects of the Charter, including the timing of a referendum, the need for a constitutional order, and the proposed formation of an upper house of Parliament.
While BNP has rejected the idea of a “constitutional order”, former ally Jamaat-e-Islami and the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP), believed to have Yunus’s backing, support it as essential legal backing.
“On the formation of the upper house, BNP proposes it be based on the number of seats a party wins in the lower house, while Jamaat and NCP want it on the basis of percentage of votes cast for each party in the lower house,” the report said. (PTI)
