The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has taken a cautious but serious stance on the interim government’s proposed July Declaration, viewing it as a potentially significant political document—but one that must be grounded in historical truth and constitutional alignment.
The BNP’s position emerged following a two-day meeting of its standing committee on Tuesday and Wednesday at the party chair’s office at Gulshan in Dhaka, where the top party leaders discussed internal reform proposals as well as the July Declaration.
The declaration is intended to mark the transition from a fascist regime to a democratic interim administration following the mass uprising in July and August 2024.
BNP leaders acknowledged the significance of a unified political narrative after the ouster of the previous regime but insisted that the narrative must reflect the true history and values of the Bangladeshi people.
According to the standing committee members the draft circulated by the interim government contained references to 1947 — the creation of Pakistan — as the starting point of Bangladesh’s political evolution.
The standing committee opposed this premise, saying that any such declaration must begin from 25 March 1971, the beginning of the Liberation War.
One standing committee member told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that Bangladesh’s birth should never be tied to the founding of Pakistan.
‘If history must be included, it must start from 1971— our own struggle, our own movement,’ he stated.
If the declaration, the BNP leader further said, intends to offer a historical context, it must acknowledge the key national events such as the 1952 Language Movement, the 1962 education commission protests, the 1969 mass uprising, and the Six-Point Movement.
These events, he argued, are essential to the country’s identity and cannot be ignored.
In addition to the historical content, the BNP took issue with several linguistic and structural elements of the draft.
According to Iqbal Hassan Mahmud Tuku, parts of the document contradict the spirit of the constitution and therefore require revision.
 ‘Our concern is not only with history. Certain elements in the language are inconsistent with constitutional principles. These cannot be allowed to stay,’ he said.
Another standing committee member said that the draft was circulated to committee members in advance of the meeting to allow time for a thorough review.
The party leadership, including acting party chair Tarique Rahman, secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, and Abdul Moyeen Khan, met to finalise the BNP’s official feedback, he said.
‘We are trying to reach a complete consensus — if not 100 per cent, then very close to it. But we will not compromise on history or constitutional principles,’ he said.
Moyeen Khan confirmed that the draft of the July Declaration dominated discussions during the meeting.
He cited that the interim government had sent a previous version earlier this year, to which the BNP had submitted its response on 12 February.
The new version, he said, is now being reviewed again.
In December 2024, student leaders announced their own intention to publish a July Declaration, but later deferred its release following assurances from the interim administration that it would incorporate their demands into a national document.
Early in 2025, the interim government circulated a draft of its own, but the political dialogue around the declaration stalled for months.
Renewed pressure from the National Citizens Party revived the process in May.
On May 10, the interim government advisory council resolved to finalise the declaration within 30 working days.
Ever since, political consultations have resumed in earnest, although no final version has yet been agreed upon.
Moyeen Khan indicated that the party secretary general would brief the media once the recommendation of the BNP on the draft July Declaration was finalised.
