Jamaat-led alliance rejects govt move to amend Constitution

The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance has rejected the government’s initiative to amend the Constitution through a special parliamentary committee, arguing that the process bypasses the mandate delivered through the recent referendum held in February this year.

Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar made the remarks at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka on Sunday.

He said the alliance believes constitutional reforms should be implemented in accordance with the July Charter and the verdict of the referendum.

Porwar said the July Charter implementation order requires elected Members of Parliament to take two separate oaths �" one as MPs and another as members of the Constitutional Reform Council.

According to him, opposition MPs took both oaths following the election, while BNP lawmakers took only the oath as members of parliament.

He further argued that Parliament’s authority to amend the Constitution under Article 142 is not unlimited. In this connection, he referred to several Supreme Court rulings that struck down constitutional amendments.

“The state has a responsibility to respect the people’s verdict in the referendum and implement it through the approved process,” Porwar said.

The alliance also demanded that the Constitutional Reform Council be made functional after completion of the required procedures.

The special parliamentary committee on Saturday invited political parties that signed the July Charter to participate in discussions on proposed constitutional amendments.

The committee is also expected to consult judges, lawyers, constitutional experts, intellectuals and newspaper editors as part of the amendment process.

The government formed the 12-member special committee on July 13 after the Jamaat-led opposition declined to nominate representatives to it. The committee held its first meeting on August 4.

Meanwhile, Khelafat Majlis has demanded the formation of an all-party Constitutional Reform Council to implement the July National Charter, while announcing a boycott of the government’s special committee’s consultation meeting.

The party made the announcement at an emergency press briefing at its Majlis auditorium in Paltan on Sunday, where Secretary General Dr Ahmad Abdul Kader presented the party’s position.

He said nearly 68 percent of valid votes were cast in favour of the July National Charter in the February referendum, which, he said, gave a clear mandate for fundamental reforms, including a caretaker government during elections, restructuring of constitutional bodies, a bicameral parliament with a 100-member upper house and judicial independence.