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Prominent politicians on Tuesday differently reacted to the road map for implementing the July National Charter 2025 after it was presented to the interim government and the political parties on the day.

National Consensus Commission vice-chair Professor Ali Riaz, along with other members, submitted the road map to chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, who is also the chair of the commission.

The same day, the consensus commission shared the road map with 30 political parties which participated in the eight-month-long consensus dialogues to formulate the July Charter and its implementation procedures.

According to the commission, the road map represented the opinions from the political parties and its panel of legal experts.

Against this backdrop, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its like-minded parties eventually opposed the road map, terming several of its options as ‘absurd’ while left-leaning parties, which refrained from signing the July Charter, observed that the document would not sustain for long.

On the other hand, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the National Citizen Party, and the Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh — a component of the anti-Awami League movement platform Ganatantra Mancha — appreciated the road map on different grounds.

The road map recommended the issuance of The July National Charter (Reform of Constitution) Implementation Order 2025 by the interim government, a referendum under the order, the next Jatiya Sangsad’s dual role also as a constitution reform assembly, and implementing 48  constitution-related reforms within 270 days of forming the Jatiya Sangsad.

To ensure implementation of the reform proposals within 270 days, the commission presented two plans.

The first plan recommends that the interim government present the 48 constitution-related reform proposals as a bill before the referendum, provisioning that the reforms should be mandated by the referendum, but if not approved by the assembly within the 270 days, would automatically become effective.  

The second plan recommends that the assembly, representing the ‘sovereign power of the people’, will approve the 48 reform proposals, mandated by the referendum, within 270 days of its formation. 

BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, while talking to journalists following a meeting with law adviser Asif Nazrul at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday, termed the 270-day timeframe as ‘absurd’.

‘Constitutional amendment becomes law only after it is duly passed in parliament, signed by the speaker, and then signed by the president; only then it is effective. No law and constitutional amendment can be passed automatically,’ Salahuddin said.

RWPB general secretary Saiful Haque, also praising the submission of the road map, echoed Salahuddin.

On the contrary, the Jamaat and the NCP strongly supported the NCC’s first plan.

Jamaat nayeb-e-amir Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said, ‘The interim government should issue the order without delay provisioning for reform proposal implementation in 270 days even if it automatically comes into force.’

Taher added that his party demanded the referendum by November.

According to the road map, the Election Commission, with necessary amendments to its existing laws, would hold the referendum before or simultaneously with the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections.

NCP joint convener Sarwar Tusher said that his party would consider signing the July Charter only if the interim government issued the order upholding the first plan.

‘We accept the road map positively,’ Sarwar said.

Although the recommended road map binds the assembly to approve the reform proposals within 270 days, an additional 45 days -- maximum -- would be granted to form a 100-member upper house. And the distribution of the upper house seats would be according to proportional representation based on shared votes obtained in the 13th JS elections.

Salahuddin criticised both the formation of the assembly and the upper house with shared-votes-based proportional representation.

He recalled that throughout the NCC dialogue, there was no overwhelming consensus on a constitution reform assembly and the shared votes-based PR in the upper house.

‘The decision on forming a constitution reform assembly should be taken by the parliament itself,’ he said.

Salahuddin also harshly criticised the road map that excluded the notes of dissent on the reform proposals, ‘meant’ to be assessed by the referendum. 

He said that the printed charter clearly mentions that political parties issuing notes of dissent could implement them if they obtained a mandate through the JS elections.

‘Yet, the road map excludes these notes of dissent,’ he said.

Jamiat Ulama e Islam secretary general Monjurul Islam Afandi said his party would not support the road map if it maintains the exclusion of the dissenting notes.

The Communist Party of Bangladesh, a component of Democratic Left Alliance, said the road map would make the July Charter vulnerable. The CPB and three other left-leaning parties refrained from signing the charter.

CPB general secretary Abdullah Al Kafi Ratan said, ‘The charter implementation process will certainly be challenged in the court someday.’