NN Online:
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has criticized the proposal to incorporate the July Charter—also known as the July Declaration—into the fundamental principles of the Constitution, calling it “misleading” and a deliberate attempt to confuse the public.
Speaking as the chief guest at a programme organised by Zia Parishad in front of the BNP’s central office in Nayapaltan on Friday morning (July 11), Rizvi said, “BNP has accepted several elements of the July Charter. But why must it be enshrined in the Constitution’s core principles? Reform is an evolving process, not a static structure like the Thar Desert or a mountain range.”
He asserted that the BNP has always supported reform initiatives, but questioned the motives behind making the July Declaration a constitutional principle. “This insistence is misleading the people. Why create confusion? The real step forward would be to return power to the people.”
The event, held to distribute prayer mats to underprivileged communities, also sought prayers for the recovery of Abdul Quddus, Zia Parishad president and adviser to the BNP Chairperson.
Rizvi’s remarks came a day after BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed echoed similar concerns following a meeting with the National Consensus Commission. Salahuddin stated that the party does not support incorporating the full July Declaration into the Constitution. “At most, the essence of the July-August student movement could be acknowledged in the Fourth Schedule as ‘July Uprising 2024’,” he said.
He further argued that political declarations are typically preserved as part of historical literature or archives, not written into the Constitution. “Even the 1972 Constitution did not include the Declaration of Independence, which proves that not every declaration belongs in the Constitution,” Salahuddin noted.
Rizvi also raised alarm over the country’s economic crisis. “This is not just political rhetoric. People are now seriously worried about a possible famine in September or October. If we begin to witness signs of that, the public will not forgive us,” he warned.
