The constitution of Bangladesh must reflect the will of the people as the student-led mass uprising forced Sheikh Hasina to flee to India bringing an end to 15 years of fascist rule, said speakers at a discussion on Friday.
Speakers, including political leaders, youth leaders, lawyers and academics, said that the student-led mass uprising of 2024 created a scope for reviewing the constitution of 1972 as it failed to protect the basic rights of the people.
They made the remarks at a discussion session titled 鈥楻eflections on new Bangladesh鈥檚 Constitution: Crises and Possibilities鈥� organised by Citizen Initiative, a platform working for democracy and human rights, at an auditorium in Dhaka University.
Amar Bangladesh Party member secretary Asaduzzaman Fuaad said that the existing constitution did not reflect the will of people and also failed to accommodate the spirit of the War of Independence.
鈥楾here are many contradictory provisions in the constitution,鈥� said Asaduzzaman, adding that the new constitution must accommodate the spirit of the war in 1971 and the student-led mass uprising in 2024.
The fundamental principles of running the state must be written clearly in the new constitution in easy language so that common people can understand it, said Asaduzzaman.
Socialist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist) central coordinator Masud Rana said that the constitution of 1972 was misused by the ruling political parties to remain in power.
Masud emphasised accommodating the economic system that ensure equality for people in the constitution.
Jatiya Nagarik Committee member Monira Sharmin said that the aspiration of the student-led mass uprising was to abolish fascist system and establish a new political settlement.
She mentioned that political parties wanted people to remain politically unaware so that they could not raise their voices for their rights.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general Moazzem Hossain Helal said that the constitution was used to ensure the interest of one person, one family and one political party but not to ensure the interest of the people.
Moazzem emphasised accommodating different beliefs of all people in the new constitution.
Dhaka University political science associate professor Kazi Mohammad Mahbobor Rahman emphasised the unity of the stakeholders to take decision whether the existing constitution would be reformed or a new constitution would be written.
Constitutional crisis will never end if the new constitution fails to reflect the will of the people, said Mahbobor.
Besides, lawyer Belayet Hossain and Student Movement Against Discrimination coordinator Abdul Kader, among others, spoke at the discussion session.聽聽