Opposition trying to mislead people over July Charter: Fakhrul

Opposition parties are trying to mislead people by claiming the July Charter would have to be enforced through street protests if it is not implemented in parliament, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said.

“We all signed the July Charter together. Every party that joined the movement signed it. We have repeatedly said that we are committed to implementing every part of the charter,” he told a memorial meeting marking the sixth death anniversary of Professor Emajuddin Ahmed at the National Press Club today (17 July).

The programme was organised by the Professor Emajuddin Ahmed Research Centre and the National Journalists’ Association. A special prayer was offered at the end of the event for the late professor.

Referring to the proposed referendum, Fakhrul, also the local government minister, said BNP had not been consulted on parts of the proposal, including proportional representation in elections to the upper house.

“We never agreed to proportional representation for the upper house. I myself said at the time that the nation had been deceived,” he said, alleging that the Reform Commission had included those proposals without BNP’s consent.

Fakhrul said the July Charter clearly states that the party elected to power would implement it in line with its election manifesto.

“We are committed to implementing both our 31-point agenda and the July Charter, but in the way we have outlined,” he said, adding that opposition parties were wrongly portraying BNP as unwilling to implement the charter.

On constitutional changes, Fakhrul said BNP had consistently advocated constitutional amendments rather than constitutional reform.

“The people gave us a two-thirds majority based on our election manifesto. There should be no confusion on this issue,” he said.

Fakhrul alleged that some opposition parties were seeking to use the July Charter as a means of gaining power, saying BNP did not want the charter to become “another instrument” for that purpose.

Yesterday, Supreme Court lawyer and Jamaat-nominated candidate for Sunamganj-2 in the 13th parliamentary election, Advocate Shishir Manir, alleged that the ruling party had violated the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, 2025 by refusing to take the oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council after the national election.

He claimed opposition lawmakers had taken both the parliamentary oath and the council oath, while ruling party’s lawmakers had declined to take the second oath, calling it a violation of the implementation order.