Constitution cannot be reformed but can be repealed Says Salahuddin

 
Salahuddin Ahmed BNP Standing Committee Member and the Home Minister on Sunday said that the Constitution cannot be reformed, but can be repealed, suspended, or amended.
 
Speaking in Parliament during a discussion on the July Charter, he called for forming a special committee with all parties to decide on constitutional changes. 

He also emphasized restoring certain principles and correcting what he described as past distortions, while respecting the spirit of the July uprising.

He suggested forming a special parliamentary committee with members rom all parties to work on the amendments.

He said they want to respect the spirit of the July student-people's uprising. He added that the main ideas of the July 24 National Charter and the July Declaration will be included in the constitution under the Fourth Schedule.

However, he said nothing can be compared to the independence of 1971.

Salahuddin Ahmed said that many legal problems were created in the constitution through the 15th Amendment. He said the High Court has already declared some parts of it unconstitutional.

He added that the remaining parts will be repealed or amended by Parliament after a decision is made. He also said that what he called "wrong history" and a "so-called declaration of independence" included in Schedules 5, 6, and 7 should be removed.

At this time, he said that Ziaur Rahman declared independence on March 26 and announced it again as Provisional Head of State from Kalurghat on March 27. He said this is the real history they want to restore in the constitution.

Talking about the principle of faith, he said they want to bring back "full trust and faith in the great Allah" into the constitution. He said this was added by Ziaur Rahman but later removed by a previous government.

He also said that although it was supposed to be included in the July Charter, it was not added due to objections from some political parties. However, he said they are determined to restore it.

Salahuddin Ahmed said that all state power belongs to the people and is exercised through Parliament. He added that they have a mandate to create a 100-member upper house where political parties will have proportional representation.

Addressing the opposition, he said that government, opposition, and independent members should sit together in a special parliamentary committee to discuss the amendments.

He said that the decision on how the constitution will be amended must be made by Parliament, not by any outside influence.