Idea of Constitutional Reform Council was never discussedSalahuddin accuses Consensus Commission of sowing discord

The National Consensus Commission has adopted an attempt to create national discord instead of building consensus, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said on Tuesday.

He made this remark in response to the recommendations the commission submitted to the chief adviser regarding ways to implement the July National Charter.

At the same time, the BNP leader thanked the commission for completing its work.

“Many suggestions or recommendations, which were not part of the July National Charter signed by political parties, have been incorporated into the draft order for implementing the Charter,” Salahuddin told the media after he met with Law Adviser Asif Nazrul at the secretariat.

He said the July National Charter likely contains 84 clauses, and several of these include notes of dissent from the BNP and other political parties.

“It is clearly stated there that if the political parties that submitted these notes of dissent receive a mandate through their election manifestos, they can implement them accordingly,” the BNP leader said.

“You can see all such clauses and their notes of dissent in the printed book of the July National Charter. Yet, surprisingly, the attachments provided today, along with the recommendations, do not mention any of these notes of dissent.”

Regarding the commission’s recommendation to hold a referendum for the implementation of the July National Charter, it was suggested that it could be held either before the upcoming national polls or on the election day.

When asked, Salahuddin, who represented the BNP in the discussions of the National Consensus Commission, said, “Perhaps the political parties may discuss this issue again.”

The Commission on Tuesday submitted recommendations outlining the process for implementing the July National Charter to the interim government.

Commission members, led by its vice-chairman Ali Riaz, handed over the recommendations to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus at the state guesthouse Jamuna.

Salahuddin told the media that a new issue has been introduced here in the name of the Constitutional Reform Council—an idea that was never discussed in the meetings with the Consensus Commission, while no consensus has been reached on this matter.