The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Saturday alleged that the reform proposals of the National Consensus Commission appeared to be an unreasonable attempt to appoint unelected persons to state positions in the future.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the allegation at an emergency press conference at the party chairperson鈥檚 Gulshan office in the capital.
鈥楾he democratic character of the state and the people鈥檚 ownership are reflected in the elected parliament. However, a review of the constitutional and electoral reform commission鈥檚 recommendations revealed that politicians are incompetent,鈥� he said.
Fakhrul said that the recommendations proposed new commissions, including a Constitutional Commission.
鈥楾he description of the jurisdiction and activities of these commissions give ample reasons to believe that the aim is to undermine and disempower the legislative and executive branches as much as possible and it will result in a weak and almost ineffective government system,鈥� he said.
The BNP leader said that it was desirable that various reforms and constitutional amendments would be made with importance given to the democratic traditions, culture, and religious sentiments of the people.
Fakhrul said that there were similarities between the issues mentioned in the spreadsheet of the National Consensus Commission and the statements made by its members at different times, as well as those from certain political parties.
鈥楾heses may raise questions in the public鈥檚 mind about whether all the issues are part of a pre-determined action plan and whether they would truly serve the interests of democracy,鈥� he said.
Although highly important issues like the 鈥榩reamble鈥� of the constitution were included in the reform commission鈥檚 recommendations, it was not mentioned in the spreadsheet, he said.
Though the spreadsheet listed about 70 proposals, the main report contained approximately 123 recommendations, he said.
He said that, similarly, although the main report of the Electoral Reform Commission had included around 150 recommendations, the spreadsheet had mentioned only 27 issues, most of which were related to constitutional reform.
鈥楾herefore, we believe that attaching our views on the main recommendations to the spreadsheet will avoid confusion,鈥� Fakhrul said.
BNP will submit its response and observations on the reform proposals to the NCC on Sunday.
The BNP leader once again alleged that some advisers of the interim government were directly and indirectly involved in the process of forming political parties while in power and the issue had created doubts in people鈥檚 minds.
He said that various signs and evidence of using the administrative machinery in this process gradually emerged. 鈥業t is not pleasant for the country and the democracy at all.鈥�
鈥楾here is no room for unnecessary debates such as 鈥渞eforms before the election鈥� or 鈥渆lection before reforms鈥�. Since reform is an ongoing process, reforms and elections can proceed simultaneously,鈥� Fakhrul said.
He also mentioned that a reform charter could be prepared based on the consensus of political parties and the elected government would implement the reforms later.
In this situation, the main task of the interim government is to organise a free and fair national election quickly after implementing necessary reforms based on consensus, and then transfer responsibility to the elected government, Fakhrul said.
He mentioned that the elected government would complete the reforms desired by the people鈥檚 consensus.
BNP standing committee members Salahuddin Ahmed, Mirza Abbas, Selima Rahman and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku were also present.
