The BNP had proposed holding a referendum on amendments to three provisions of the Constitution, including the provision for a caretaker government, said Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, chairman of the Special Committee on Constitutional Amendments.

He said the proposal was made to bring the relevant provisions under a referendum so that no future parliament could amend them. “I hope the bill will be placed in the January session, which is the first session of the year.”

The home minister made the remarks while speaking to journalists after the third meeting of the Special Committee on Constitutional Amendments at the National Parliament on Sunday.

Editors of national dailies, representatives of various journalists’ forums and prominent journalists attended the meeting. The committee sought their views and proposals on various aspects of constitutional amendments. The committee chairman said many of the participants had expressed their intention to submit their proposals in writing.

Salahuddin Ahmed said, “Editors of national dailies, representatives of various journalists’ forums and prominent journalists took part in today’s discussion. They gave their views and proposals on various provisions and schedules of the Constitution, starting from the preamble. They were also asked to submit their proposals in writing. These views will be discussed by the committee and incorporated into the final report.”

Regarding the participation of the opposition, he said, “We’ve repeatedly invited them, and we continue to invite them. Whenever they join this committee, we’ll welcome them. Your various views will be discussed. Based on the discussions, we’ll accept those that are acceptable, taking everyone’s views into consideration. It would have been better if they had taken part in the discussions. Then we could have incorporated many of the issues raised by the party.”

He said, “We want there to be differences of opinion among us, not divisions. We’ll implement the July National Charter in the way we signed it. Beyond that, we also want to incorporate, based on consensus, issues that weren’t discussed or were left out.”

On the priorities of the July National Charter and the BNP’s election manifesto, Salahuddin said, “The priority is the July National Charter. But we’ll also incorporate the issues mentioned in our election manifesto on which we received a mandate.”

Regarding the referendum, he said there’s a constitutional requirement to hold a referendum for amendments to certain specific provisions of the Constitution. The BNP had proposed bringing two other provisions, including the provision for a caretaker government, under a referendum so that if any future parliament wanted to change these provisions, it would have to obtain public approval. The minister said a referendum would be held on the provisions requiring one after the constitutional amendment bill is passed by parliament but before it is signed by the president.

Regarding the report of the special committee, he said, “We’re making a strong effort to present our report to parliament by December. In that case, based on this report, a bill will be introduced by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. I hope the bill will be placed in the January session, which is the first session of the year.”