BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday described the call to include the July Charter in core principles of the Constitution as “misleading”.
“BNP has already accepted many points from the July Charter. But why must it be made part of the fundamental principles of the Constitution?” he said.
Rizvi made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a prayer mat distribution programme in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan Central office organised by Zia Parishad, seeking the recovery of the organisation’s president and BNP Chairperson’s adviser Abdul Kuddus.
The BNP leader said reforms will continue to take place across countries and through time. “Reform is not something fixed like the Thai mountain range. It is a dynamic process.”
He said when needed for the sake of democracy, the state, or the people, reforms should be made and appropriate laws should be enacted.
“This is the very nature of a democratic constitution. But insisting that reforms must be done first and that it (July Charter) must be included in the fundamental principles (of the Constitution) is misleading. This is creating confusion among people. Why are you trying to mislead the public in this way?” said Rizvi.
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Rizvi urged political parties to focus on returning power to people instead of confusing them by raising various demands. “That is the most important task.”
He said autocratic ruler Sheikh Hasina had taken away the power of people by closing the door to democracy for 16 years. “We must now reopen that closed door and return power to people by forming a government with elected representatives.”
The BNP leader said their party has never spoken against reform and, in fact, has always supported it. “Many of the issues you refer to in the name of reform are already reflected in BNP’s 31-point reform outline.”
He said BNP has long been fighting for a greater ideal— justice, equality, the rule of law and true democracy. “This fight is for restoring people’s ownership of the state. When that ownership is denied, it opens the path to fascism.”
Rizvi noted that a people’s government must remain accountable to the public at every step. “That accountability is absent now. We believe the interim government has been formed with public support, as well as the backing of all political parties — except the Awami League and a few of its allies.”
“We all continue to support the Dr Muhammad Yunus-led government. But it is also true that if we begin to see and hear signs of famine, the people will not spare us,” Rizvi said.
Referring to the worsening economic situation, he said many garment factories are closing down, leaving people unemployed. “If people cannot afford food, that’s a clear sign of famine. And if such signs appear, no one will be spared — only the fallen fascists will clap in delight.”
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The BNP leader said if the government wants, it can appoint administrators to manage the institutions of those Awami League cohorts who have fled the country siphoning off huge money abroad and prevent the closure of factories.
“The factories must not be shut down, especially given the dire state of the economy. This is not just a figure of speech — people are now seriously wondering whether the country might face famine by September or October,” Rizvi warned.