Parliament to decide fate of Constitutional Reform Council, hints Salahuddin

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed today (14 March) said the issue of forming a Constitutional Reform Council may be discussed on the floor of the Parliament.

“The discussion may take place on the floor (of the House). It was not discussed here,” he said when asked about the Constitutional Reform Council.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, the Home Minister said the matter was not discussed in the committee meeting but could be raised during the parliamentary session.

The minister said today’s meeting was the first sitting of the Business Advisory Committee, where members discussed the duration of the first session of parliament, the agenda for debates, proposed bills and the time allocation for discussion on the President’s address.

According to him, the House will adjourn on 15 March. It will remain prorogued from 16 to 28 March and resume on 29 March. The parliamentary session is expected to continue throughout April.

Regarding the ordinances issued during the tenure of the interim government, the minister said a special parliamentary committee had been formed last Thursday to review them.

He said such a committee is traditionally formed before the constitution of ministry-related standing committees.

The Law Minister will formally place the matter in parliament, after which the ordinances will be sent to the special committee for scrutiny and review before being presented to the House in the form of reports, he said.

Asaduzzaman, the Law Minister, said discussions on the issue would take place in parliament.

“We will present our position in parliament. Parliament is the centre of all discussions,” he said in response to a question about the political debate surrounding the Constitutional Reform Council.

Meanwhile, Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam said the opposition would present its position during the discussion on the President’s address.

“We will explain why we walked out and why we felt it was inappropriate for the President to deliver that speech. We will present our position but will not offer thanks to the President,” he said.

On constitutional reform, he added that the opposition leader would raise the issue of the Constitutional Reform Council in parliament at an appropriate time.

He also noted that since the referendum verdict favoured constitutional reforms, there had been an expectation that a separate constitutional reform session would be convened alongside the parliamentary session.

“The government side had earlier said the matter would be discussed in parliament. We want to hear the government’s position there and will determine our course of action accordingly,” he said.

The opposition, he added, would like to see the current parliament transformed into a Constitutional Reform Council as soon as possible.