The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has found itself in a clear political quandary over the recommendations for implementing reforms proposed by the National Consensus Commission.
Although the party has sharply criticised some of the Commission’s recommendations over the past two days, it has not been able to take a position of outright rejection.
Sources at the party’s policymaking level and political analysts say that with the national election scheduled for February approaching, the recommendations for implementing reforms have placed the BNP in an awkward situation—it cannot accept them, yet it cannot reject them either. Rejecting them could provide an excuse to accuse the party of trying to derail the election, while acceptance could be seen as a political defeat for the BNP.
In this emerging situation, BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman and members of the standing committee have held several rounds of formal and informal discussions over the past two days about the Commission’s recommendations. However, they are yet to determine a strategy to overcome this crisis.
BNP policymakers are considering taking a restrained stance instead of reacting too strongly and are planning a strategy to gradually put counterpressure on the government.
They believe that any excessive reaction would allow the BNP to be portrayed as a force obstructing reforms. In this context, a BNP delegation is planning to meet soon with the chairman of the National Consensus Commission and chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus, as well as other advisers of the interim government.
The party intends to present its objections and demand resolutions.
BNP’s standing committee issued an official response to the Commission’s recommendations at a press conference on Thursday. The press briefing was called to announce the decisions made at the party’s standing committee meeting held on Wednesday night.
When asked at the press conference whether the BNP was rejecting the recommendations of the July Charter, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir replied, “We haven’t said anything about rejection.”
Another journalist then asked whether the BNP would complain to the chief adviser about the matter. The secretary general responded, “What is there to complain about? We have presented our views to the nation. If necessary, we will go to the chief adviser again.”
A BNP delegation is planning to meet soon with the chairman of the National Consensus Commission and Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, as well as other advisers of the interim government.
Regarding BNP’s next course of actions, this correspondent spoke with several senior leaders of the party on Thursday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said that the party’s only goal at this moment is the election. The interim government has announced that the national election will be held in the first half of February, and BNP wants it to be held within that timeframe.
However, according to them, the government and the Consensus Commission have taken this desire for elections as a sign of ‘weakness.’
These BNP leaders believe that the government assumes that even if the BNP opposes the recommendations for implementing reforms, it will not be able to take a firm stance of rejection.
According to them, the government and the Consensus Commission, perceiving BNP’s eagerness for elections as a weakness, divided the ‘July National Charter’ into two phases—first, the formulation of the reform proposals or the July Charter itself, and second, the recommendations for implementing the charter.
The BNP had believed that the implementation recommendations would include provisions for dissenting opinions, but the government secured signatures from political parties on the July Charter and later omitted many things from the recommendations.
Commenting on this, Nasiruddin Patwari, chief coordinator of the National Citizen Party (NCP), said at a press conference on Wednesday that signing the July Charter before ensuring the implementation process was the BNP’s ‘misstep while trying to play smart’.
He said, “We said we couldn’t sign blindly without seeing the decision. They (BNP) should have seen what the implementation process would look like before signing. They made a mistake, and that mistake should not be blamed on us.”
Altogether, the BNP is now trapped in a dilemma over the implementation of the reforms. If it rejects them, it will be labelled ‘anti-reform’; if it accepts them, it will be seen as ‘defeated.’ For now, the party is trying to maintain a strategic balance between these two positions—ensuring that the national election is held on time while preserving its political stance.
At the same time, if the government takes a new initiative for dialogue over the Commission’s recommendations, the BNP intends to participate and demonstrate its strength.
BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy told Prothom Alo on Thursday, “We want to save the patient (the country). We want the election to take place and for there to be no disruption in it—that’s what BNP wants.”
BNP’s objections mainly concern three issues in the recommendations for reform implementation: the timing of the referendum, the omission of dissenting opinions, and the proposed Constitutional Reform Council. Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP, however, hold the opposite stance on these matters.
Analysts say that BNP’s current position is one of ‘strategic balance.’ The party is questioning the reforms but not completely distancing itself from the process. However, how effective this cautious stance will be depends on the government’s next steps. If the government proceeds to implement the reforms while ignoring BNP’s reactions, the party might take measures to increase pressure on the government.
BNP’s objections mainly concern three issues in the recommendations for reform implementation: the timing of the referendum, the omission of dissenting opinions, and the proposed Constitutional Reform Council. Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP, however, hold the opposite stance on these matters.
Many BNP leaders believe that some of the Commission’s recommendations are structured in a way that, if implemented, would leave the government formed after the upcoming elections in a weakened position.
However, there is also a slightly different opinion within the party—some think it would be strategically wise to accept the recommendations and move toward elections, avoiding excessive reaction and instead presenting alternative proposals.
Speaking about this, writer and researcher Mohiuddin Ahmad told Prothom Alo, “The BNP is under pressure because of the Consensus Commission’s recommendations. They don’t want to be labelled as anti-reform. But there are proposals in the reforms that they find unacceptable. In other words, they can neither swallow nor spit it out. Moreover, the polarisation created over the reforms has left the BNP somewhat isolated. They are in a crisis.”
He, however, added that the Commission’s recommendations could still be revised. There is also complexity regarding how the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ options will be presented in the referendum.