The nation has become disappointed with BNP’s stance on reforms as the government has allowed key ordinances issued by the interim government to lapse, Islami Andolan Bangladesh has said.
In a statement on Saturday, party Joint Secretary General and spokesperson Maulana Ghazi Ataur Rahman said an unprecedented opportunity for reform was created after the July mass uprising. Through the Reform Commission and National Consensus Commission, proposals were developed to build strong, neutral institutions.
“After traversing a blood-soaked path, there was an expectation that the 13th National Parliament would approve the interim government’s ordinances and introduce laws for remaining reforms. But what BNP did in the first session has disappointed the nation. The aspirations of July have been crushed,” he said.
The spokesperson said the government has allowed the Referendum Ordinance, the Enforced Disappearance Prevention Ordinance, and the Police Commission Ordinance to lapse. Additionally, three ordinances on judicial independence, three on the National Human Rights Commission, and one on the Parliament Secretariat have been repealed.
“Among the interim government’s ordinances, these were significant ones that could have broken the autocratic structure and moved Bangladesh forward. The BNP government has repealed them and followed the path of the fallen Awami League. We strongly protest and condemn this,” he said.
Maulana Ghazi Ataur Rahman noted that even on judicial independence, BNP has taken a different path. “Even though BNP leaders themselves have been victims of enforced disappearance, they have pushed the Enforced Disappearance Commission towards abolition.”
The parliament has called the Referendum Ordinance an “endless document of deception” with no legal validity, he added.
“Through all this, BNP has followed in the footsteps of the fallen autocracy and kept the path clear for establishing autocracy,” the spokesperson said.
He urged the government to raise more comprehensive laws and bills in the next session on matters for which ordinances have been lapsed, warning otherwise the people will themselves secure their demands.
