Leader of the Opposition and Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, expressed concern that the council’s session has not been convened within the stipulated time.
He raised the issue during an unscheduled discussion in Parliament on Sunday. In response, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the Prime Minister cannot advise the President to convene the council because the Constitution does not recognize the existence of such a body.
After the parliamentary session began, Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman stood up seeking to speak during the unscheduled discussion. At that time, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed informed him that he would be allowed to speak after the question-and-answer session.
In his remarks later, Shafiqur Rahman said the current Parliament, formed in the context of the July mass uprising, did not come through a regular electoral process. Rather, it was constituted on November 13, 2025 through a presidential order.
He said that according to the order for implementing the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform), the session of the Constitutional Reform Council was supposed to be convened within 30 days after the announcement of election results. However, this has not yet been done.
The opposition leader said the order states that if the “Yes” vote wins in the referendum, a Constitutional Reform Council will be formed with elected representatives. But the council has still not been established.
Shafiqur Rahman said members of the current Parliament were elected through two separate votes in two different capacities. According to the July order, 77 opposition members have already taken oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council. Therefore, they want to perform their duties simultaneously as members of Parliament and members of the council.
Responding to the opposition leader’s remarks, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said that according to parliamentary rules, a notice must be submitted under the specific provisions to initiate discussion on urgent public matters.
He said the July National Charter implementation order is neither a law nor an ordinance but rather something in between.
The Home Minister also said that under the Constitution, the President generally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister. However, since the Constitution does not mention a Constitutional Reform Council, the Prime Minister cannot advise the President on convening such a body.
Salahuddin Ahmed said the verdict of the referendum must be respected, but it has to be implemented through constitutional and legal procedures. “A state cannot be run on emotion; it must operate on the basis of the Constitution and the law,” he said.
He added that the issue could be discussed in the Parliamentary Business Advisory Committee, and if necessary, a constitutional amendment bill could be considered during the upcoming budget session.
Later, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed told the opposition leader that the matter is extremely important and cannot be resolved immediately. He said if a formal notice is submitted, he will take a decision in accordance with parliamentary rules.
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