BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed has alleged that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has violated the July Charter he himself signed.
The BNP leader made the allegation in an immediate reaction on Thursday after the chief adviser’s address to the nation.
He said, “The Constitution Reform Council is a new concept. This issue was not discussed in the National Consensus Commission (NCC). This is why we are compelled to say that the chief adviser himself has violated the signed July Charter.”
Salahuddin Ahmed added that the people’s aspiration has not been fulfilled by scheduling the referendum on the same day as the national parliamentary election, scheduled to take place during the first half of February.
However, a meeting of the BNP’s policymaking forum, the National Standing Committee, will be held later on Thursday night after which the BNP is expected to formally announce its reaction to Yunus’ speech.
In his speech, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus explained the method for implementing the July National Charter. He said the National Parliamentary Election and the referendum will be held on the same day. The parliament will be bicameral, with the lower house formed through a general election and the 100-member upper house formed through the PR system, ie, proportionally based on the votes received by the parties. Approval from a majority of the upper house members will also be required for constitutional amendments.
Reacting to this, Salahuddin Ahmed said, “The matter of forming an upper house in the national parliament was settled through a ‘Note of Dissent’ in the National Consensus Commission discussions. There is no scope to impose this anew. The formation of a body called the ‘Constitution Reform Council’ was not part of the NCC discussions. It is a completely new idea.”
Salahuddin Ahmed represented the BNP in the Consensus Commission discussions. He said the BNP has called an emergency meeting of the Standing Committee on Thursday night to formally react to the chief adviser’s peech.
