Legal and academic experts at a discussion on Monday underscored the need for a constituent assembly and a national consensus to amend the constitution, raising questions about聽the interim government鈥檚 mandate to make such changes.
The remarks came during a discussion organised by Bangladesh Ganatantrik Ainjibi Samiti, a platform of left-leaning lawyers, to聽mark November 4 as Constitution Day.
At the event eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain called for public discussions to assess and address any potential shortcomings in the constitution, suggesting that amendments might be聽necessary if gaps were identified.
Fellow jurist Shahdeen Malik, however, expressed scepticism regarding the feasibility of interim government-led constitutional reforms, cautioning that these efforts might face significant obstacles.
Dr Kamal said that public opinion must be cultivated through open discussions to address the issues, if any, needing correction.
Having urged that any move towards amendment should be grounded in widespread public consensus to reflect the people鈥檚 will, the eminent jurist stressed that with the support of a two-thirds majority of the people, the constitution could be amended to resolve identified shortcomings.
Shahdeen Malik criticised Bangladesh鈥檚 repeated shifts in governmental structure without addressing the core state issues.
鈥楤angladesh is a country where the form of government has been altered repeatedly blaming the government structure for all the troubles, instead of addressing the root problems of the state,鈥� Shahdeen Malik stated.
While he advocated for a constituent assembly to draft or amend the constitution through broad national consensus, he also expressed doubt whether such consensus could be achieved at all.
Former Dhaka University history professor Syed Anwar Husain remarked that the interim government had the authority only to propose constitutional amendments.
But Supreme Court Bar Association president AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon聽said that the interim government held the mandate neither to amend the constitution nor to rewrite it since the students did not give it the mandate to reform the state.聽
Senior lawyer Subrata Chowdhury called on the interim government to designate April 10 as 鈥楻epublic Day鈥� to honour the formation of Bangladesh鈥檚 first government on that date.
He criticised the interim government鈥檚 decision cancelling November 4 as Constitution Day, expressing concern over diminishing recognition of key historical milestones of Bangladesh.
