The aspirations of the people, as expressed during the July-August mass uprising, should be reflected in the constitution.
This suggestion was raised during discussions between participants and the Constitution Reform Commission on Sunday.
The reform commission engaged in dialogue with various professional organisations, young cultural workers, and researchers.
The commission, chaired by Professor Ali Riaz, began consultations with stakeholders on 11 November. As part of this initiative, the commission held multiple sessions on its fifth day, Sunday.
The commission, in a media release, said human rights activist Ilira Dewan, researcher Maha Mirza, new generation thinker and cultural activist Sarwar Tushar, Syed Abdullah, Arup Rahi, Deepak Kumar Goswami, lawyer Arif Khan, Syed Nizar, musician Asif Akbar and Emran Mahfuz took part in the session.
Earlier, chairman of the arbitration tribunal of Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) Nasrin Begum, panel lawyer Chowdhury Mokimuddin KJ Ali, deputy secretary general Jamil Uddin, Institution of Diploma Engineers’ interim central committee convener Engineer Kabir Hossain, joint convener Engineer Gias Uddin, Supreme Court Bar Association president Mahbub Uddin Khokon and executive member Shafiqul Islam took part in the discussion.
Besides them, Garment Workers Solidarity co-president Anjan Das, general secretary Mizanur Rahim Chowdhury, central member Sabina Yasmin, Bangladesh Institute of Planners president Professor Adil Muhammad Khan, vice president Syed Shahriar Amin, member AKM Riazuddin, Bangladesh Trade Union Association president Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam, vice president Khalilur Rahman, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) secretary general Quader Goni Chowdhury, treasurer Shahidul Islam, Bangladesh Indigenous People’s Network on Climate Change and Biodiversity (BIPNet) member Gidison Pradhan Suchiang, member Nabadip Kumar, Chittagong Hill Tracts citizen committee member Nirupa Dewan, member Hari Purna Tripura also participated in the discussion.
Several people who attended the meeting to exchange views Sunday said some people talked about drafting a new constitution or rewriting the existing one while some others spoke about constitutional reforms.
Some have argued that the use of the term rewrite may create complications. Since there is no limit to reform, the entire constitution can be reformed if necessary.
Questions have also been raised about how the constitution amendment proposal will be implemented.
Speaking about this, SCBA president Mahbub Uddin Khokon told Prothom Alo that he said in the meeting that how to implement the reform of the constitution or the proposals is also important. The incumbent government itself exists in relation to the existing constitution. Complications could arise if initiatives are taken to form a constituent assembly or drafting a new constitution.
He further said he proposed to ensure the independence of the judiciary, remove the provision of seats reserved for women and make it mandatory for the parties to field a certain number of women candidates.
Writer and researcher Maha Mirza told Prothom Alo that her suggestion was that the aspirations of the people that were expressed through the mass uprising should be understood and reflected in the constitution. The rights of farmers and marginalised communities, and guaranteeing their livelihood should be in the constitution.
She also proposed to broaden and specify the right to employment, right to property in the constitution, so that the government cannot acquire the land of farmers in the name of public interests.
Young writer Sarwar Tushar told Prothom Alo that he demanded drafting a new democratic constitution scrapping the existing one. This is because, he thinks, this constitution is no longer valid after the mass uprising.
For the new constitution, he made some recommendations, including the Proclamation of Second Republic, provision on curtailing the powers of the prime minister, and impeachment of the prime minister.
At the end of the discussion, human rights activist Ilira Dewan told Prothom Alo that she proposed recognising and preserving the mother tongue of 50 “ethnic communities” along with “state language Bangla” in Article 3 of the constitution, and regard all citizens as “Bangladeshi” instead of “Bengali” in Article 6.
She further proposed to amend Article 9 of the constitution, adding the right of collective ownership of the indigenous people, and removing the words “tribes” and “ethnic minorities” and so on from the constitution.