Jamaat won't accept constitutional amendments that bypass referendum verdict, vows to step up street protests

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami believes the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government is using its two-thirds majority in parliament to pursue constitutional amendments through the existing procedure rather than implementing reforms in line with the referendum verdict. The party therefore intends to intensify protests on the streets alongside its activities in parliament, hoping to pressure the government to change its position. This was learned from senior Jamaat leaders. Jamaat leaders believe that constitutional “amendment” and constitutional “reform” cannot be treated as the same thing. In their view, the public mandate obtained through the referendum was not merely for amending certain provisions of the existing constitution; rather, it was for implementing the constitutional reform proposals set out in the July Charter.

The leaders fear that the government may use its two-thirds parliamentary majority to amend the constitution on its own terms. They argue that participating in the special committee would lend political legitimacy to this process, which is why they have not nominated any representatives to it. Under the circumstances, they want to step up protests alongside their parliamentary activities to put pressure on the government to change course. Jamaat leaders, however, do not currently view these programmes as a movement to topple the government. They say they are taking to the streets to secure implementation of the referendum verdict and the July Charter, as well as to build public support for demands concerning the public interest. They have warned that the programmes will be intensified if these demands are ignored. On 6 October, Jamaat Assistant Secretary-General Ehsanul Mahbub Zubayer told Prothom Alo that the government was using its two-thirds…