The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance has demanded the immediate formation of a Constitution Reform Council to implement the July National Charter, and warned that Bangladesh could face political conflict if the verdict of the referendum is not implemented.
Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar made the demand while addressing a human chain in front of the NAM Building of parliament after submitting a memorandum to Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban yesterday.
“If the referendum verdict is not implemented, the country’s politics could move towards conflict,” he said.
He said they had urged the Speaker to take the necessary legal steps, together with the prime minister and leader of the house and the leader of the opposition, to implement the referendum verdict endorsed by majority of voters.
According to Porwar, the speaker assured them of discussing the matter with the PM.
Alliance coordinator Hamidur Rahman Azad, also Jamaat assistant secretary general, warned of “another July uprising” if necessary to ensure the referendum’s implementation, and demanded that those responsible for the July killings be brought to justice.
The memorandum, submitted on behalf of the 11-party alliance and the families of those killed and injured during the July movement, contains six demands, including formation of a Constitution Reform Council to implement the July National Charter, and a mandatory roadmap for implementing the referendum verdict.
The referendum was held on February 12 this year alongside the 13th parliamentary election, with around 69 percent of voters backing constitutional reform.
Earlier, the July National Charter was adopted on October 17 last year and later President Mohammed Shahabuddin promulgated the July National Charter (Constitution Reform) Implementation Order in the following month, under which a referendum ordinance was issued.
Under the implementation order, all elected lawmakers were also required to take oath as members of the Constitution Reform Council. However, only the 77 lawmakers from the 11-party alliance took oath as the council’s members.
The alliance brought the issue back into focus as part of its 36-day programme marking the second anniversary of the July uprising.
