Badruddin Umar demands fresh Constitution

UNB, Dhaka :Noted thinker and intellectual Badruddin Umar on Friday called for a fresh constitution to meet the demand of the people and help resolve the current political crisis in the country.”The country can not run under the present constitution…reality is that the existing constitution has become dysfunctional,” he said, addressing a rally organised by Jatiya Mukti Council in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the afternoon. Badruddin Umar, president of Jatiya Mukti Council, said the new constitution must be formulated considering the demands of the people as the country’s socioeconomic scenario has changed significantly since the present constitution came into effect.Criticising the demand for the restoration of ’72 Constitution, he said many leftists demand this to fulfill their aspirations, but there is no place in politics for ‘fulfilling hope’.The noted thinker said the Awami League-led alliance government brought about the 15th amendment of the constitution and held the 10th parliamentary polls to come to power again.”This (15th) amendment not only becomes harmful for them (AL), but also paralysed the ‘state mechanism’. ‘Party mechanism’ usurped ‘state mechanism’ due to politicisation.”Since the government can not run the state mechanism properly, there is no discipline in the ruling class,” he said Badruddin Umar said the businessmen, with 80 percent parliament members, took a firm grip on the country’s politics.”As businessmen, they never show interest to join parliament, triggering quorum crisis. They are involved in lobbying at the Secretariat to maximise their profit. They lack adequate knowledge to perform their duties.”He alleged that many businessmen are involved in corruption and also help breed graft in society as a culture.About the recent attacks on minorities, the left-leaning social thinker said ruling Awami League, BNP and Jamaat – ‘all were involved’ in the communal attacks. “As the ruling party men were involved in such sectarian attacks, no probe body has been formed yet to investigate the incidents,” he added.