‘Referendum essential for constitutional amendments’

Staff Reporter :

BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed on Wednesday stressed that any constitutional amendment passed in the next parliament must be endorsed through a referendum.

Speaking after a dialogue of the National Consensus Commission in Dhaka, he said the discussions focused on three major issues: the constitutional order, holding a referendum on election day, and organizing another referendum after constitutional amendments.

He pointed out that although parliament holds the authority to alter the basic framework of the Constitution, Article 142 clearly requires a referendum for such changes.

“Whatever decision is taken, it must again be approved through a referendum following the amendment. In effect, this means two referendums on the same matter. If we avoid settling this, the only beneficiaries will be the ousted fascist forces,” Salahuddin warned.

He further recalled that a year has passed since the interim government took office, sworn in by the president in line with the Supreme Court’s opinion.
“To raise doubts about it now is nothing more than baseless political sloganeering,” he commented.