In which jurisdiction was oath form of Constitution Reform Council prepared on blue paper?

Addressing the opposition benches, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed stated that no names had been received for the Constitution Amendment Committee, even as discussions continued outside Parliament regarding the Reform Council. 

He questioned how, in the absence of any referendum on January 19, 2026, the oath form of the Constitution Reform Council could have been prepared on blue paper. 

He described this as a clear violation of Article 148 of the Constitution and declared that the Constitution had been breached at every turn.

He made these remarks while participating in the discussion on the motion of thanks on the President’s speech in the National Assembly on Thursday. 

The session was presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.

The process of forming the Constitution Reform Council by bypassing the July Charter is fraudulent

Stating that the BNP had never deviated from the July Charter, the Home Minister described the process of forming the Constitution Reform Council by bypassing the July National Charter as fraudulent. 

He noted that the current activities bore no resemblance to the original document of the July Charter. Questions had arisen, he said, about how the interim government could issue such orders without any political compromise. 

By ignoring this Parliament, which carries the mandate of the people, attempts were being made to reform the Constitution in a different manner from outside, which conflicted with the country’s legal framework.

Salahuddin Ahmed observed that his nine and a half years in exile and the time spent in foreign prisons had taught him many lessons. 

Highlighting the suffering of the families of disappeared leaders such as Ilyas Ali, he said that their children still waited for their fathers with windows left open. To give dignity to their tears, it was necessary to build a state where no one would be disappeared again and no one’s rights would be taken away. 

He urged everyone to remain united in realising the dream that the politics of this new settlement of 2026 should be non-discriminatory and firmly based on justice.

It is not honourable for the nation to repeatedly create debates on national issues

He declared that those who fought against the Pakistani army and their local collaborators – the Razakars, Al Badr, Al Shams and Jamaat-e-Islami – in 1971 were the brave freedom fighters. This status, he added, was now enshrined in parliamentary law. It was not honourable for the nation to repeatedly create debates on such national issues. 

Pointing to those who claimed to be freedom fighters yet hesitated when it came to the history of the Liberation War, he said it was the responsibility of all to protect the honour of those who had become immortal in the pages of history.

The Home Minister stated that the student uprisings of 2024 and 2026 were not isolated events but the culmination of a long-term democratic struggle. Referring to reports by international observers and the European Union, he said the world had recognised the elections in Bangladesh and found no evidence of engineering. 

He questioned those who sought to belittle this victory, arguing that they were in fact betraying the blood of the martyrs. Bangladesh, he emphasised, had been freed from fascism not by any single force, but through the combined participation of students, the public and political parties.

BNP has never deviated from the July Charter

In response to the debate surrounding constitutional reform and the July National Charter, the Home Minister reaffirmed that the BNP had never deviated from the July Charter. Although some parties had disagreed on certain issues, the BNP had always stood for the sovereignty of the people. 

He pointed out that it was not possible to change the basic structure of the Constitution through ordinances. The BNP had proposed a referendum because the direct verdict of the people was essential for any major reform. 

He called on members of the opposition to refrain from spreading confusion about the National Charter.

Referring to the BNP’s election manifesto, the Home Minister noted that the party had come to Parliament with an absolute majority of 214 seats after securing 51 percent of the votes in the election, with the promise of fulfilling the expectations of the people and implementing the July National Charter. 

He highlighted the importance of a two-thirds majority, stating that without such strength, the establishment of multi-party democracy, the independence of the judiciary, and a free media would not have been possible in the past.

He stressed the need for constitutional amendments to resolve the current political and legal deadlock in the country. 

He observed that most clauses of the Fifteenth Amendment remained in force, which was why the issue of trust in Allah Almighty was not reflected in the Constitution. 

He asked whether the opposition still wished to retain those controversial amendments. If the people, as the true owners of the republic, wished to formulate a future-oriented Constitution in their own interest, they must come forward to the parliamentary committee.

Recalling that the history of the BNP was the history of introducing multi-party democracy and parliamentary politics, he expressed his determination to implement the outline of state reforms under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, in line with the current global order. 

At the same time, he emphasised the need to control the abuses being carried out in the name of freedom of speech through social media.