Addressing diplomats, Naheed Islam said the ruling party had already broken its commitments on reforms. He did not take oath for the Constitutional Reform Council. He created a false binary between the July Charter and the executive order implementing the July Charter.
He said the current debate is about how the reforms will be implemented. According to him, this debate started from the Consensus Commission itself. Before the election, he believed that there was an agreement, that the July Charter had been finalized, and that the country was moving towards elections and a referendum.
Referring to Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed’s statement in Parliament that BNP had compromised on reforms for the elections, Nahid Islam said that was why they had accepted everything related to the July Charter and the Reform Commission at that time. However, he said, his main concern is elections, not reforms.
He said there are two issues here: first, what should be the essence of the reform and what reforms are needed; Second, how will those reforms be implemented. He emphasized that the question of “how” is very important. The government wants to carry out reforms through the normal amendment process, he said, while they want a Constitutional Reform Council.
Opposition Chief Whip Naheed said a Constitutional Reform Council is necessary for fundamental changes in the Constitution.
“At the moment, we are pushing for several key structural reforms. For example, the formation of the Upper House, which will balance constitutional amendments. We are also giving priority to issues like the appointment of a caretaker government, appointments to constitutional institutions like the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Election Commission, and an independent judiciary,” he said.