Six leaders of National Citizen Party (NCP) took their oaths as lawmakers and members of the Constitution Reform Council around noon on Tuesday. However, shortly after being sworn in, the NCP leaders announced their decision to boycott the oath-taking ceremony of cabinet.
NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossen, also the newly elected lawmaker for Rangpur-4, confirmed the decision through a post on Facebook.
He stated that the NCP decided to stay away from the cabinet’s swearing-in ceremony, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, because the oath of the Constitution Reform Council was conducted without following the verdict of the referendum.
While MPs from Jamaat-e-Islami have already taken their oaths as members of the Constitution Reform Council, members of BNP refrained from doing so on Tuesday.
Speaking to party MPs at Parliament before their general swearing-in ceremony, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed clarified that they would not be joining the Constitution Reform Council at this stage.
Salahuddin explained that none of their members had been elected to the council yet, and the body had not been formally incorporated into the Constitution.
According to Salahuddin, if a Constitution Reform Council is to be established following the referendum’s verdict, it must first be constitutionally recognised. He noted that legal provisions must be made to determine who is authorised to administer the oath to council members.
