BNP will not accept referendum decision without election day: Mirza Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, ‘The proposed referendum before the election is not possible. Considering the time, money and huge arrangements like the election, it is unreasonable and reckless. BNP will never accept the decision of referendum without election day.’ He said these things at a press conference of the BNP Standing Committee today, Thursday (October 30).
Mirza Fakhrul said, ‘There will be a referendum on the issues proposed by the Consensus Commission. But on the contrary, the July Charter did not mention the opinions, dissents and dissent notes of the political parties. In other words, an attempt has been made to impose the proposals and recommendations of the commission unilaterally and forcibly on the nation.’
Raising the question, he said, ‘Then are the discussions of the political parties with the Reforms and Consensus Commission for a long year meaningless? This is a farce and a betrayal of the nation.’ The BNP Secretary General also said, ‘The government has no jurisdiction to give a legal basis to the July Charter. The commission did not consider the democratic rights of political parties.’
Regarding the reforms, he said, ‘If the reforms are not completed within 270 calendar days from the date of commencement of the first session, the constitutional reform bill approved in the referendum will automatically be included in the constitution. This is completely absurd, ridiculous and purposeful.’
He said, ‘After approval in the National Assembly, any bill becomes a law only after receiving the approval of the President. There is no possibility of it being automatically included in the constitution. If this happens, it will be against democratic norms and parliamentary sovereignty.’
The BNP raised 19 points at the press conference. In response to a question, Mirza Fakhrul said, ‘We have presented this before the nation, if necessary, we will go to the advisor.’ Mirza Fakhrul said, ‘We have confidence in the chief advisor on the election issue. There is no ambiguity about the election.’
BNP National Standing Committee members Dr. Abdul Moin Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Salahuddin Ahmed, Begum Selima Rahman and Major (Retd.) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed were also present at the press conference.
Before this press conference, two meetings of the National Standing Committee were held on Tuesday and Wednesday under the chairmanship of the party’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman. The decisions taken in both the meetings were presented at the press conference by the party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul.