Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has characterised the interim government’s July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order as a “document of endless deception,” noting that the president lacked legal authority to issue such an order.
Taking part in a discussion in Parliament on Tuesday regarding an adjournment motion on summoning a session of the Constitutional Reform Council, the minister maintained that the move was illegal from its inception.
Allegations against CEC
During his speech, the home minister launched a sharp critique of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), accusing him of violating the Constitution.
He questioned under what law the CEC distributed oath forms for members of the Constitutional Reform Council, arguing that the CEC had no such jurisdiction. Ahmed stated that by doing so, the CEC directly violated his oath to preserve the Constitution.
Salahuddin further noted that in the last election, the Election Commission provided ballots only for the election of Members of Parliament, and there was no separate ballot for becoming a member of a reform council.
Consequently, he argued, the public gave a mandate only for them to serve as MPs, not for any “non-existent” council.
‘President lacks power to issue order’
Citing various constitutional articles and schedules, Salahuddin Ahmed argued that the President’s power to issue such orders was abolished after 7 April 1973, as per Article 17 of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution.
He raised the question, “How can a session be summoned on the basis of an order that is illegal by origin?”
Salahuddin further claimed that the President himself admitted in private that he did not have the authority to issue such an order but was compelled to do so by the interim government.
Referendum and ‘quinine’ controversy
The home minister described the order for the reform council as a failed attempt to undermine the rights of a sovereign Parliament.
Addressing the referendum held during the previous government’s tenure, he noted that the BNP had proposed a referendum to seek the people’s mandate, but the ballot papers were designed to mislead the public.
He likened this tactic to “feeding a quinine tablet inside a banana,” suggesting that a controversial order was forced upon the people under the cover of three positive questions.
BNP’s Position and Next Steps Dismissing as misleading the propaganda that the BNP is against constitutional reform, the minister stated, “We uphold every word and sentence of the July National Charter.”
However, he insisted that such reforms must be conducted while preserving the sovereignty of the people and adhering to the Constitution.
To achieve this, Salahuddin proposed the formation of a special committee on behalf of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, which would include all political parties and independent members of Parliament.
He stated that the 47 points of consensus in the July Charter should be discussed in detail within Parliament to take action according to the people’s mandate.
