Online Desk 

Opposition parties, including Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP), have reaffirmed their decision not to participate in the government-proposed Special Committee on Constitutional Reform tasked with reviewing the Eighteenth Amendment. The parties insist that constitutional reforms should be carried out in line with the July National Charter approved through a referendum and argue that an independent reform council, rather than a parliamentary committee, should oversee the process.

According to opposition leaders, the ruling party’s two-thirds majority in parliament would make it difficult for dissenting views to have any meaningful impact within the proposed committee. They also claim that, based on past experience, objections and dissenting opinions from opposition parties have often been ignored.

Speaking on the issue, Hamidur Rahman Azad said that the government would ultimately impose its own decisions through its parliamentary majority. In his view, joining the committee would merely serve to legitimize a process whose outcome has already been determined. He emphasized that constitutional reform should proceed according to the mandate given by the people through the referendum.

The NCP has expressed a similar position. Party Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain stated that the July National Charter had already received public approval through a referendum and that any attempt to pursue a different path would contradict the will of the people.

Meanwhile, the government has proposed the formation of a 17-member parliamentary committee to examine constitutional amendments. Law Minister Mohammad Asaduzzaman said the committee is expected to include representatives from both the government and opposition parties. However, opposition groups have so far shown little interest in participating.

Leaders of the opposition alliance indicated that they are placing greater emphasis on political mobilization and public campaigns rather than parliamentary engagement. As part of that strategy, they plan to organize divisional-level rallies across the country during June and July.

Government sources, on the other hand, say preparations are underway to move forward with the constitutional amendment process regardless of whether opposition parties participate. Opposition leaders have warned, however, that any reform effort undertaken without broad national consensus could trigger fresh political tensions in the future.

Observers believe the growing divide between the government and opposition camps over constitutional reform is likely to become a major issue in Bangladesh’s political landscape in the months ahead.