Opposition threatens streets if Charter ignored
The country’s opposition bloc has warned it may launch street protests if the BNP-led government fails to implement the July National Charter, the reform blueprint that emerged from last year’s mass uprising.
Leaders of the 11-party electoral alliance on Saturday demanded that the government convene a session of the Constitution Reform Council in line with the charter, giving authorities until Sunday to act.
Alliance coordinator Hamidur Rahman Azad said the opposition would be compelled to mobilise public support if the government did not respond promptly.
“If swift measures are not taken, the 11-party alliance will be forced to launch street movements with the people,” Azad said, adding that senior leaders would soon meet to announce a programme of action.
The alliance’s liaison committee held an emergency meeting earlier at the central office of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami in Dhaka.
Azad criticised the legitimacy of the recent national election, claiming it did not fully reflect the people’s voting rights, though he acknowledged that the alliance had accepted the results in the national interest.
He highlighted that around 70 percent of voters had supported the July Charter in a referendum, effectively endorsing the formation of the Constitution Reform Council.
The opposition accused the government of retreating from earlier commitments.
While BNP lawmakers took the standard parliamentary oath, they declined to take the oath as members of the reform council, which Azad described as a U-turn and a betrayal of public trust.
He warned against selective implementation, saying that ignoring parts of the charter would undermine broader constitutional reforms.
The newly convened 13th parliament has entered office amid heightened tensions, with competing interpretations of the charter and disagreements over how far Bangladesh’s political system should be restructured.
The ruling BNP, with 209 seats, has indicated it will focus on selective reforms, while opposition parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party, holding a combined 74 seats, demand full implementation within 180 days.
The proposed Constitution Reform Council, which requires at least 60 MPs to support its formation, is intended to draft and oversee sweeping reforms, including judicial decentralisation, electoral system changes, and the creation of an upper house.
With opposition lawmakers having taken the necessary oaths, the council is now technically backed, but the BNP government maintains it lacks legal standing under the current constitution.
Political analysts have warned that failure to implement the charter in full could deepen tensions. Senior journalist Ashraf Kaiser said ignoring the spirit of the July uprising may trigger renewed political unrest in Bangladesh.
