Consensus Commission deceives people and political parties: Mirza Fakhrul

Staff Reporter :

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has accused the Consensus Commission of deceiving the people and political parties, as the “notes of dissent” submitted by BNP were not included in the report the commission submitted to the government.

“I was astonished to see that when the Consensus Commission released its report yesterday, our notes of dissent were missing. They have been completely ignored. This cannot be called a consensus,” he said while addressing the publication ceremony of “Judiciary-Reform-Election: Bangladesh in the Interim Period” at the National Press Club on Wednesday.

Criticising the report submitted to the government, Fakhrul said, “Yesterday, our Reform Commission, the Consensus Commission, submitted their report to the Chief Adviser, who signed it as its chairman. What surprised us most was that the issues we disagreed on-where we submitted our notes of dissent-were promised to be recorded in the final report.

But to our surprise, when the report was published yesterday, those dissenting notes were missing! They were completely ignored. This cannot be called consensus. Then what was the point of forming such a commission? I would say this Consensus Commission has deceived the people and betrayed the political parties.”

He further said, “If these issues are not corrected immediately, this will go against the spirit of unity. These matters need to be rectified.”

The BNP Secretary General stated,
“I want to make one thing very clear, as we have said before: at the root of all crises lies the absence of a truly acceptable election.

Only through a genuinely representative parliament, formed by a fair election, can these problems be addressed within the constitution and the country be properly governed.”
Fakhrul added, “That is why we had proposed holding the election after August 5. At that time, many said we were eager for power and that’s why we wanted an early election. But now it has been proven that the longer the election is delayed, the stronger those forces become-forces that wish to destabilise Bangladesh, to create unrest, and prevent the true establishment of democracy.”

Calling upon the Chief Adviser, he said,
“We urge you to carry out the necessary reforms and ensure an election that is acceptable to the people. The parliament that emerges from that election should address the nation’s crises. Therefore, if any failure occurs or if you deviate from this path, you will have to bear full responsibility-let me make that absolutely clear.”

Fakhrul continued,
“As a nation, do we really understand where we want to go and how? After such a massive upheaval, after so much sacrifice and loss of life, are we truly using this moment for the welfare of our nation? Unfortunately, it seems the more time passes, the more divided we become. We must realise who is creating this division and why.”

He further observed,
“You’ll notice that today, both in mainstream and social media, many are taking sides and trying to completely discredit their opponents. But this very moment-this interim period-is supposed to be a time of unity. This is when we should agree on the minimum issues and move forward together on a common track. Yet, this moment is being used to deepen divisions. You surely understand who is doing this and for what purpose.”

Rejecting claims that BNP is against reforms, Fakhrul said,
“The propaganda that BNP is anti-reform is absolutely false. BNP was born through reform. How can a party that was founded through reform ever oppose reform? This is a completely fabricated and false narrative.”