Constitutional impasse returns as govt floats spl committee
The government on Wednesday renewed its push to form a special parliamentary committee on constitutional amendment, asking the opposition to nominate five members to the proposed panel.
The opposition said it needed time to decide, reviving a deadlock that has stalled the constitutional process for months.
Law Minister Md. Asaduzzaman, speaking in the post-lunch session of the Jatiya Sangsad, said the government had already drawn up a list of 12 members for the committee — including seven BNP lawmakers, alongside representatives from Gono Odhikar Parishad, Gono Sanghati Andolan, Bangladesh Jatiya Party and independents. He wanted five more names from the opposition bloc by Thursday.
“Based on proportional representation, the opposition holds 26 percent of the house,” Asaduzzaman said. “We are asking for five names. If they provide them, I can place the committee proposal before parliament tomorrow.”
Deputy Speaker Kaisar Kamal backed the call, directly urging Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman to submit the names so the committee formation could proceed.
Rahman listened, and demurred.
“We wanted reform in line with July Charter,” he told the house. “What is being proposed here is amendment, this difference existed before and it still remains. We will consult among ourselves and respond later.”
The same wall, again
It was nearly a word-for-word replay of March 31, when a Jamaat-initiated adjournment motion on the constitutional deadlock produced an identical exchange — government proposes a committee, opposition declines to commit.
That day, ruling BNP signalled a committee could serve a purpose if it helped move discussions toward resolution, but offered nothing firmer.
Wednesday’s session ended the same way. The Law Minister thanked the opposition for its response and said the government was in no rush.
“If we have to wait until the next session, that is not a problem,” Asaduzzaman said. “We will move forward with constitutional amendment in the light of the July Charter.”
A process in limbo
At the heart of the dispute is how — and whether — the July National Charter’s 48 constitutional proposals get implemented.
The charter, developed by the National Consensus Commission through consultations with political parties, was put to a referendum that returned a ‘Yes’ majority.
Under that mandate, the current parliament was to function simultaneously as a Constitutional Reform Council.
That council never came into being. BNP and its electoral allies refused to take the separate oath required for membership of the Reform Council, while opposition members did take the oath.
The deadline for the council’s first session under the July Charter Implementation Order expired on March 15 without a single meeting held.
BNP’s position is that several of the charter’s fundamental proposals are ones it disagrees with, and it wants constitutional changes to reflect its own stance rather than the charter’s text verbatim.
The rest of the opposition coalition — Jamaat-e-Islami, the National Citizens’ Party and others — insists the referendum result is binding and the proposals must be implemented as written, through the Reform Council, not a parliamentary committee that could water them down.
