A special committee tasked with scrutinising 133 ordinances, issued during the interim government’s tenure, has failed to reach a consensus on 18 key issues, including provisions for referendums, following a two-hour meeting on Sunday night.
The meeting, held on Sunday, was convened to resolve disputes regarding 26 significant ordinances. However, committee members remain divided on at least 18 of them.
The contentious ordinances include those related to the Police Commission, the Supreme Court Judges Appointment Commission, Commission for the Prevention of Enforced Disappearances, and local government elections.
Speaking to the TIMES of Bangladesh at 11:45pm following the session, Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker for Satkhira-4 and a member of the special committee Gazi Nazrul Islam said the deadlock between government and opposition members remains unresolved.
He noted that while 26 ordinances were identified as contentious during a previous meeting last Wednesday, Sunday’s discussions failed to bridge the gap on 18 of them.
“They [members of ruling party] want to amend or cancel some of these ordinances so they can bring them to the floor of Parliament for discussion,” Islam said. “Since they hold the majority, their intentions are not good.”
He further alleged that while the government publicly claims to be implementing the “July Charter,” there is no evidence of this in practice.
An anonymous government lawmaker and committee member corroborated the lack of progress, stating that disputes persist over nearly 20 ordinances and could not be settled during the Sunday night meeting.
The continued impasse follows a statement made earlier on Sunday afternoon by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed.
Speaking after a meeting of the government’s parliamentary committee, the minister had expressed optimism that a final decision regarding the 133 ordinances might be reached that same night.
After the meeting concluded, Salahuddin clarified to the media that some ordinances would proceed with ‘notes of dissent’ from government or opposition members.
He noted that members would still have the opportunity to address these issues in Parliament.
The home minister explained that any ordinance not presented through the proper procedure within 30 days will lapse, after which it would need to be reintroduced as a bill. A formal report on these matters is scheduled to be presented to Parliament on 2 April.
