I have never seen a referee score a goal: Salahuddin Ahmed

BNP National Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed has commented that the Consensus Commission and the interim government are the same. Stating that the National Consensus Commission is playing the role of a referee at this time, he said, ‘I have never seen a referee score a goal.’ The BNP leader said these words at a roundtable meeting at Hotel Lakeshore in Gulshan today, Wednesday (October 29).
Salahuddin said, ‘We have been able to discover some truths. Until now, we thought that the National Consensus Commission was playing the role of a referee or a facilitator. Of course, the person who signed the recommendation they gave to the government yesterday is also a chief advisor as the president of the National Consensus Commission. So, on the one hand, it is the government’s approval; on the other hand, it is from the National Consensus Commission. I have never seen a referee score a goal.’
He said, ‘The proposal or recommendation is a 94-page document with attachments. A letter has been written to the chief advisor in it. The chief advisor himself signed it. It can be said that the government and the consensus commission are the same.’
He further said, ‘After discussing with the consensus commission, it seems that the government and two or three other parties are on one side. I feel like I was playing against them. As a result, we tried to fulfill our responsibility on behalf of the nation.’
Salahuddin said, ‘The document signed on the 17th does not fully address the recommendations on how to implement the July Charter. It was said that a referendum would be held in 48 phases. That discussion did not take place with us.’
Then why were so many discussions and efforts made for so long, this BNP leader asked, ‘There was a proposal that would be implemented on the basis of consensus. The July Charter that was signed does not exist, there are proposals from the commission and two or three parties.’
The BNP leader said the purpose of the commission was to establish consensus, ‘The proposal of the National Consensus Commission will lead to division within the nation, there will be disunity, there will be no consensus. We do not know what their purpose is. We don’t know what they want to achieve through this.’
Referring to the party’s behavior regarding the RPO and the alliance symbol, Salahuddin said, ‘Any political party in the alliance had the freedom to vote for its own symbol or any symbol of the alliance. Suddenly they undemocratically said that even if they are in the alliance, they have to vote for their own symbol. I saw that any other political party is supporting this. We don’t expect that.’
He also said, ‘The current government will play the role of a caretaker government, we hope that they will work in a neutral role. We are expressing disappointment in the consensus commission and various activities of the government.’