Dhaka: Tensions surfaced in Bangladesh’s newly elected Parliament on Tuesday as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami locked horns over a second oath linked to the “Constitution Reform Council”.
BNP refuses to take reform council oath
The controversy began after BNP lawmakers took the standard oath of office administered by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasiruddin at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. Jamaat-e-Islami MPs were scheduled to follow. However, the situation escalated when BNP declined to take an additional oath as members of the proposed “Constitution Reform Council”, which is tied to endorsing a nationwide referendum.
Jamaat refuses to take oath
Jamaat’s deputy chief Abdullah Mohammad Taher said his party would not take the oath unless BNP MPs also took the second pledge. He argued that Parliament would be “meaningless” without constitutional reform.
The additional oath seeks to bind MPs to carry out the widely publicised “July Charter”, which calls for sweeping changes to the Constitution. The detailed 84-point proposal was presented in the referendum in a formal yet highly complex format for voters to consider. The Election Commission has reported that over 60 per cent of voters supported the referendum.
BNP leaders, however, rejected the demand. Party standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said, “We have not been elected as members of the Constitution Reform Council; no provision of the council is yet to be incorporated in the Constitution.” The decision, he noted, was conveyed on the direction of BNP chairman Tarique Rahman. “None of us (BNP members) will take the second oath,” Ahmed said.
In the February 12 elections, BNP secured 209 of 297 seats, while Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats, emerging as the main opposition after Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League was barred from contesting.
Tarique Rahman swearing-in
Under Bangladesh’s Constitution, President Mohammad Shahabuddin is required to invite the leader of the majority party to form the government. BNP has announced that its chairman, Tarique Rahman, will assume office as Prime Minister after being elected as the majority party leader.
The swearing-in ceremony is expected to draw around 1,200 domestic and international guests. India will be represented by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. He will likely be accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Lok Sabha Secretary-General Utpal Kumar Singh.
Maldives President Mohammed Muizzoo, Turkish Undersecretary Beris Ekinci and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa are also expected to attend Rahaman’s oath-taking ceremony.