What BNP said during Consensus Commission meeting with chief adviser
Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed spoke on Monday in detail about justice, reforms and upcoming national election in the second round of discussions held by the National Consensus Commission aimed at building consensus among political parties on various state reforms.
He urged the commission to present a roadmap to hold elections by December this year without delay at the meeting that began around 5:00pm on Monday with the commission's head and Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the Foreign Service Academy auditorium.
The meeting that ended at 6:45 pm was attended by several political parties including the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizen Party. More than 30 political parties were invited to the meeting.
The chief adviser’s press wing later briefed journalists on what was said in the meeting.
A three-member BNP delegation led by Salahuddin Ahmed attended the meeting.
“We are here for the second time for this important discussion. We don’t know if there will be a third. But we are not satisfied with the pace of this reform initiative. We are one of the key proponents of reform. If you had not taken responsibility by fortune, then whenever fascism collapsed, we would have had to step forward as committed. I won’t elaborate on our 31-point reform proposal. There’s no reform idea here that doesn't align with those points. In fact, your proposals go even beyond ours. We have discussed these extensively, especially from our party's side,” Salahuddin said at the beginning.
Salahuddin added that BNP has already submitted a written response but was not in full agreement with the summarised version presented by the commission, as it created some confusion. He suggested that it could have been compiled more clearly, indicating points of agreement and majority consensus.
“Anyway, I won’t say more about reforms—if I do, Professor Riaz (Ali Riaz) might be hurt,” he added with a touch of humor.
“I haven’t come here to offer praise. We came to have a serious discussion. Can we now finally make you understand the points we’ve repeatedly failed to convey? Probably not. But there is absolutely no valid reason to delay the election beyond December. We have explained again and again, with logical reasoning, why an election must be held before December. Some within the nation are exploiting this delay for conspiracies and instability, and such efforts are coming both from inside and outside the country.
People say a neighbouring country wants elections. But just because they don’t, should we indefinitely avoid holding one? They claim to want an ‘inclusive’ election, yet some have already been excluded. So it's clear what they mean. And when Europe or the US calls for elections, there is no objection. There are plenty of domestic and international statements urging elections. That’s why we, and like-minded parties, have expressed our stance,” he added.
Referring to a recent remark form the Chief Adviser during his Japan visit, Salahuddin said, “It is unfortunate that you said only one party wants elections in December. Forgive me, but that remark has hurt us deeply.
“…The people of this country expect neutral behaviour from the advisory council. You must ensure that. We are not coming to you merely to complain—we are trying to strengthen your hand. So, please consider everything and urgently present a roadmap for elections within December. That is our demand. And if there is any valid reason not to, then present it to the nation,” Salahuddin added.