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The special parliamentary committee on constitutional amendments is holding discussions today with leaders of political parties and alliances that signed the July National Charter, as part of its consultations on proposed changes to the Constitution.
The meeting is scheduled for 2:30pm at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in Dhaka and will be the committee’s second meeting. The Parliament’s official meeting schedule confirms the timing and venue.
Representatives of all 26 parties and alliances that signed the July Charter have been invited to the discussion. They have been asked to present their respective party or alliance positions on constitutional amendments.
The committee is consulting political parties and other stakeholders before proceeding with recommendations on constitutional changes. It also plans to seek views from constitutional experts, lawyers, academics, newspaper editors and other stakeholders.
However, Jamaat-e-Islami, the National Citizen Party (NCP) and several other parties are not participating in the discussion. Several parties belonging to the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance have also decided to stay away.
The special committee was formed in Parliament on July 13 to work on constitutional amendments in line with the July National Charter. It initially comprised 12 members, with a provision to expand it to 17 members by including opposition representatives. The committee is headed by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed.
The government has maintained that the constitutional changes should be made through the existing parliamentary framework, while Jamaat, NCP and other opposition parties have advocated implementing the charter’s constitutional proposals through a Constitution Reform Council.
The differences over the mechanism for implementing the July Charter remain a major point of disagreement between the government and opposition parties.