“You are our heroes. Those who fought [in the July Uprising] are here [in Parliament]. I would like to tell them that you represent Gen Z. You should not become Jamaat generation,” he says.
Bangladesh National Party-BJP Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho. Photo: Collected
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Bangladesh National Party-BJP Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho. Photo: Collected
Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho today (31 March) asked in Parliament the National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders not to turn into the Jamaat generation while representing Gen Z.
“You are our heroes. Those who fought [in the July Uprising] are here [in Parliament]. I would like to tell them that you represent Gen Z. You should not become Jamaat generation,” he said, joining the discussion on a motion for summoning the session of the Constitution Reform Council in the House.
Participating in the discussion after NCP lawmaker Akhter Hossen (Rangpur-4), BJP lawmaker Andaleeve Rahman (Bhola-2) hoped that the NCP would bring positive politics.
Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman has placed the motion in the House under the Section 62 of the Rules of Procedure for summoning the session of the Constitution Reform Council in line with July National Charter (Constitution Reform) Implementation Order, 2025.
Andaleeve Rahman said there is a tendency among some political actors to push them (BNP-led alliance) against the spirit of the July Uprising for political advantage, which could harm national unity.
“We are seeing an attempt to push us against the spirit of July,” he said, adding that such “tagging politics” was also seen during the Awami League regime.
Questioning the formation of the Constitution Reform Council, Partho said they wanted to remain within the constitutional process through which amendments are made.
He claimed that although around 70% of people voted “yes” in the referendum, 51% supported the BNP-led alliance (in the 13th parliamentary election) in favour of constitutional changes.
Focusing on the roles of different political parties and actors in the 2024 July movement, the BJP chief said, “You scored 12 runs from six balls. But we scored 300 runs before.”
Stressing the need for political unity over the spirit of July movement, he said, “We must respect the Constitution and at the same time we must respect the spirit of July.”
Earlier, NCP Member Secretary Akhter Hossen said BNP chairman Tarique Rahman on 30 January last had urged people to vote “yes” in the referendum during a pre-election rally in Rangpur, the birthplace of July martyred Abu Sayed, but now BNP is showing reluctance to accept the referendum results.
“We want to ask the Prime Minister (Tarique Rahman) why you don’t want to accept the verdict of the referendum after asking (the people) to vote ‘yes’ in the referendum,” said the NCP leader.
Noting that the people had given their verdict in favour of implementing the July National Charter, he said terming the public verdict as unconstitutional is audacity and stigmatisation of Parliament.
“Whether the Referendum Order is approved by Parliament or not, there is no chance of making the referendum illegal,” he said.
