Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general and local government, rural development and cooperatives affairs minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Saturday that his party had never agreed to proposals for forming a constitutional reform council or introducing a proportional representation system in an upper house of Jatiya Sangsad.

He made the remarks at a commemoration meeting for Zia Parishad president Md Abdul Quddus at the auditorium of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in the capital.

Rejecting claims that the BNP opposed reform, Fakhrul said that the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance was carrying out a movement in the name of reform, but its actual objective was to keep the country in a state of instability.

‘Debate is healthy, but the use of misinformation, falsehoods and political motives is harmful,’ he said.

Fakhrul said that the BNP had participated in every stage of the July Charter process, at times submitting notes of dissent while still signing the document.

‘Now it is being said that everything must be implemented in full, which cannot be correct,’ he said.

He reiterated that the BNP had not agreed on two issues, the PR system in the upper house and the formation of a constitutional reform council, and added that all decisions should come through parliament.

Referring to a recent proposal by the law minister to form a parliamentary committee for constitutional amendments, Fakhrul said that the proposal had been shared with opposition parties, who were expected to respond soon.

He expressed hope that the debate over constitutional reform would be resolved quickly to allow progress. ‘We can no longer afford division,’ he said.

The BNP leader also voiced concern over irregularities and corruption in the country.

He accused the government led by Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League of damaging the economy and eroding ethical standards.

‘The deeper we go into the system, the more worrying it becomes,  irregularities, corruption and nepotism are everywhere,’ he said, blaming 15 years of misrule for the situation.

Fakhrul also called for national unity and urged younger generations to focus on rebuilding the country, warning that Bangladesh risked falling behind in a rapidly evolving global landscape driven by technological advances such as artificial intelligence.

Among others, the event was addressed by BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and the vice-chancellor of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Professor Md Abdul Latif.