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Monday | September 21, 2026 | Dhaka

Political divide grows over reform

Panel Moves Ahead Despite Opposition Boycott
 Staff Reporter
 Published: 12:56 AM, 21 September 2026  Updated: 11:50 PM, 20 September 2026

The government’s move to amend the Constitution through a special parliamentary committee has widened the political divide, with the Jamaat-e-Islami-led opposition alliance, NCP, Rastro Sanskar Andolan and several other parties boycotting the committee’s second meeting while the ruling BNP pushed ahead with a year-end deadline for the reform process.

The committee, chaired by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, met on Sunday at the Cabinet Room of the Parliament Complex and decided to prepare a draft of the proposed amendments within 2026 to facilitate implementation of the July Charter.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Salahuddin said the committee would meet once a week and complete its report by December.

The report would then be sent to the Law Ministry for preparation of a bill, which would be placed before Parliament by the end of the year.

“The committee wants to move very fast,” he said.
The committee had invited all 26 political parties and alliances that signed the July Charter.

Fifteen attended in person, while one party submitted its proposals in writing.

Salahuddin said the AB Party sent a written response, while Jatiya Gonofront, which could not attend for “health reasons”, expressed its support for the process by phone.

The committee asked parties with specific proposals to submit them in writing.

It also said the amendment process would be based on consultations with all July Charter stakeholders and their views, reaffirming its “firm commitment” to fully implement the signed charter.

Dissent to be reflected
Salahuddin rejected allegations that the ruling BNP, which holds a large parliamentary majority, was seeking to push through constitutional changes on its own terms.

The allegation was “completely untrue”, he said.

He said BNP lawmakers would implement the July Charter “exactly as it was signed by the political parties”, while the “notes of dissent” submitted by the BNP during the interim government-led implementation discussions would also be reflected in the reform process.

Salahuddin said the BNP had clearly presented those reservations during its election campaign and that voters had subsequently backed the party by electing it to power.

Upper house remains disputed
The proposed 100-member upper house remains another point of disagreement between the government and opposition.

Salahuddin said seats in the upper house would be distributed among parties in proportion to the number of parliamentary seats they won in the national election.

The Jamaat-led opposition alliance, however, has been demanding that the upper house be constituted under a proportional representation system based on the total votes secured by each party.

The disagreement over the mechanism for implementing the July Charter has already led to opposition protests in Parliament. Opposition MPs previously walked out when the special committee was formed, insisting that constitutional reforms should instead be carried out through a Constitution Reform Council.

Opposition rejects committee
At a press conference at the National Press Club on Sunday, the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance formally rejected the government’s initiative to amend the Constitution through the special parliamentary committee.

Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar said the process bypassed what the alliance described as the mandate arising from the referendum.

The alliance said constitutional reforms endorsed by voters should be implemented through the proposed Constitution Reform Council rather than through the parliamentary committee.

Porwar said the democratic way to resolve the constitutional dispute was to respect three elements: the aspirations of the July mass uprising, the July National Charter and the people’s verdict expressed through the referendum.

He also raised what he described as the “core question” of the current constitutional dispute.

Under the July Charter implementation order, MPs were supposed to take two oaths – one as members of Parliament and another as members of the Constitution Reform Council.

Porwar said opposition MPs had taken both oaths after the election, while BNP lawmakers had taken only the oath as MPs.

The opposition’s position has been consistent with its earlier rejection of the parliamentary committee, while the government has maintained that constitutional changes should proceed through the existing parliamentary framework.

Those attending Sunday’s committee meeting included Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni; Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman; Zainul Abedin, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the Home Ministry; and State Ministers Md Jonaid Abdur Rahim Saki, Md Nurul Haque and Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin.

Officials from the Law Ministry and the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat also attended.