Staff Reporter:
Home Minister and BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed yesterday said the country will continue to be governed strictly in accordance with the Constitution while maintaining commitment to the historic July National Charter.
“The state can’t be run on emotions; it runs through the Constitution, laws and established rules,” he said.
The home minister said this by taking floor following the remarks of Leader of the Opposition in par-liament and Ameer of Bangladesh Jammat-e-Islami Dr Shafiqur Rahman on constitutional and legisla-tive reforms in line with the “July National Charter”
Speaking in the House, the Home Minister emphasized that the Constitution is the supreme document of the state and all state affairs must be conducted based on constitutional and legal frameworks.
“Even the implementation of the July National Charter must take place through constitutional and legal procedures,” he added.
He noted that the Rules of Procedure has already provided specific provisions for raising urgent matters of public interest.
According to him, any discussion or proposal regarding such issues should be brought to Parliament by following those established rules.
Referring to the constitutional provisions, the Home Minister said that the President may promulgate an ordinance only when Parliament is not in session, as stipulated in Article 93 of the Constitution.
However, he stressed that the Constitution itself cannot be amended through an ordinance.
Ahmed described the July National Charter as a historic political document of consensus. He also men-tioned that a referendum had been held to gather public opinion on the matter.
Nevertheless, he said that if constitutional amendments are required to implement the charter, those changes must be made through Parliament.
He further pointed out that all the133 ordinances promulgated during the Interim Government already been placed before the Parliament and decisions regarding them must be taken place within the stipulated timeframe.
In this regard, he proposed that the Business Advisory Committee of parliament will discuss and deter-mine when a constitutional amendment bill could be placed before the House.
