The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday accused the National Consensus Commission of deceiving the people and political parties by completely ignoring the notes of dissent in its final recommendations for implementing the July Charter.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the remarks while speaking at a publication ceremony of a book named Trial, Reform and Election: Bangladesh under Interim at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka.
He said that the commission had ignored all the issues on which the BNP had clearly disagreed.
鈥楾he NCC on Tuesday submitted its final recommendations to the chief adviser, who is also the commission鈥檚 chairman. We were surprised to see that the issues on which we gave notes of dissent were entirely ignored,鈥� Fakhrul said.
He said that such omissions could not be considered a consensus. The BNP leader described the omissions as deceiving the people and political parties.
Fakhrul urged the government to quickly amend the recommendations to include all agreed points and record the disagreements accurately.
He emphasised the importance of holding a genuine election to form a people鈥檚 parliament through which necessary reforms could be constitutionally implemented and the country could be properly governed.
He said that chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus had promised the people to carry out the necessary reforms and hold a credible election, and that the parliament formed through it would resolve all the country鈥檚 crises.
The chief adviser will have to bear full responsibility for any deviation or overstep, he said.
The BNP leader expressed concern over delays in holding the election, warning that further postponement would strengthen fascist forces seeking to destabilise the country.
He said that these forces aimed to push the nation towards anarchy and obstruct the establishment of genuine democracy.
Fakhrul said that the BNP, together with other political parties, had launched an anti-fascist movement based on a 31-point reform proposal.
He rejected claims that the BNP was against reforms.
He also lamented that the gains of the recent mass uprising had not been fully utilised for national welfare, cautioning that growing divisions and the use of media, particularly social media, were polarising people and undermining opponents.
In a separate event, BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed alleged that the recommendations made by the NCC did not fully reflect the discussions held with political parties, nor did they align with the provisions of the July Charter signed on October 17.
He alleged that, during the meetings of NCC, both the commission and some political parties had attempted to impose 鈥榰nconsidered decisions鈥� on the nation, while the BNP represented the voice of the people.
Expressing concern, Salahuddin warned that the current approach of the commission and the government would deepen political divisions rather than foster consensus.
He, however, expressed hope that the interim government would act as a true caretaker administration and maintain neutrality in its functions.