BNP shows Yunus regime its place during oath-taking, says ‘Constitution Reform Council’ is not in the Constitution yet, elected MPs will work as per Parliament’s mandate

BNP rejects Yunus administration's proposal for dual oath, reminds them of democratic process
BNP oath taking, images via IANS and Indrajit Kundu on X

In a significant ‘reality check’ to the current “unelected” caretaker regime in Bangladesh, the BNP that won the recent Bangladesh elections by a landslide, has subtly reminded the caretaker government led by Muhammad Yunus that their time is over, and henceforth, the mandate of the people will be followed. 

At the oath-taking ceremony today in Dhaka, BNP senior leader and standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed rejected the Yunus govt’s proposal that the newly elected MPs also take an oath as members of the ‘Constitution Reform Council’. Salahuddin displayed the Yunus-suggested oath and rejected it, saying the new members of the Parliament have been elected by the people of Bangladesh as members of Parliament, and they cannot be taking oath of a body that isn’t even approved and affirmed by the democratic parliament yet.

The ‘Constitution Reform Council’ aims to change the Bangladesh constitution in accordance with the referendum conducted alongwith the paliament elections. 

Using strong words, Salahuddin reminded fellow MPs and other dignitaries at the event that the newly elected members will only act in a procedural and democratic manner, and any mechanism that could pre-commit the new parliament to an interim-government-initiated framework should not be allowed. 

It is notable here that the proposed ‘Constitution Reform Council’ stemmed from a recent referendum but had no current constitutional footing in the elected parliament. 

“None of us have been elected as the members of this ‘Constitution Reform Council’. This council is not even a part of the constitution yet. It will be considered legitimate only when it is approved by the elected parliament. The parliament will decide what oath the council members need to take and when. The oath in the blue file that you handed us is nowhere in our constitution. We have been elected as per the people’s mandate and we hope to follow it in the future too.”

The rejection was a subtle but significant reminder to the Yunus government that their time is over. And the new leadership will make its own decisions henceforth in Bangladesh. 

Tarique Rahman, the son of former PM Khaleda Zia, has been elected as the leader of BNP’s parliamentary party. He is also taking the oath today as the new PM of Bangladesh. Upon his invitation to PM Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is attending the event in Dhaka today, representing the government of India.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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