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BNP Secretary General and Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday accused opposition parties of misleading the public over the implementation of the July Charter, insisting that the BNP remains committed to carrying it out through constitutional means.
“We’re facing many questions today. The opposition is saying that if the demand to implement the July Charter is not fulfilled in Parliament, the issue will be settled through street protests,” Fakhrul said while addressing a memorial meeting marking the sixth death anniversary of former Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor Emaz Uddin Ahmed at the Jatiya Press Club.
The programme was jointly organised by the Professor Emaz Uddin Ahmed Research Center and Jatiya Sangbadik Samity. A special prayer was offered at the end of the event for the late academic.
Referring to the proposal for a referendum, Fakhrul said the BNP had never been consulted on the matter and reiterated that the party had never agreed to proportional representation in the proposed upper house.
“I myself issued a statement at the time saying that the nation had been deceived. The Reform Commission included those proposals without our consent,” he said.
Fakhrul urged people to read the July Charter carefully, saying it clearly states that the party elected to government will implement it in line with its election manifesto.
“We have consistently said this and remain committed. Just as we are committed to our 31-point reform agenda, we are equally committed to implementing the July Charter. But we will do so in the way we have proposed. The opposition is completely misrepresenting our position by claiming that we do not want to implement the July Charter,” he said.
Highlighting the BNP’s record on reforms, Fakhrul said the party had introduced major democratic changes in Bangladesh, including restoring multi-party democracy, replacing the presidential system with a parliamentary one, and passing the caretaker government provision through Parliament.
“When these issues are raised today, I believe they are being used to mislead the public,” he said, adding that some opposition leaders were making sensational remarks to provoke people.
“No one understands better than the people themselves. They are fully capable of judging what we have proposed regarding constitutional amendments,” he added.
On the ongoing constitutional debate, Fakhrul said the BNP supports constitutional amendments rather than rewriting the Constitution.
“We have always said that we want to amend the Constitution. We have never said that we want to rewrite or fundamentally reform it,” he said.
He maintained that the BNP had received a public mandate through its election manifesto and had been entrusted with governing the country with a two-thirds parliamentary majority.
“There should be no confusion on this issue,” he said.
Fakhrul also alleged that some opposition parties were using the July Charter as a political tool to gain power.
“We do not want the July Charter to become just another instrument for obtaining power,” he said.
Responding to criticism of the BNP, Fakhrul said millions of party supporters had suffered during what he described as the fight against fascism.
“Six million BNP supporters faced false cases, around 1,700 leaders and activists were disappeared, and thousands of BNP members were killed. We have to remind people of these facts because some are trying to create confusion,” he said.
Calling for unity, Fakhrul said the BNP remains committed to liberal democracy and urged all political forces to avoid divisive politics.
“Just as we united to achieve independence in 1971, fought the Ershad dictatorship, and waged the final struggle against fascism in 2024, we have now created a democratic environment. If we work together, we can take the country to the place we have long aspired to reach,” he said.
Former Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof Anwar Ullah Chowdhury chaired the programme while Jahangirnagar University Vice-Chancellor Prof Kamrul Ahsan and convener of the Professor Emaz Uddin Ahmed Research Center Prof Abdul Latif Masud also spoke, among others.
