DHAKA — Jamaat-e-Islami will file a compensation suit against the National Consensus Commission and the government if the July Charter is not given a legal basis, the party’s deputy chief said.
BNP says the July Charter has no legal basis, but Jamaat believes mere assurances are not enough, said Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, Jamaat-e-Islami’s naib-e-ameer. Without a legal basis, the charter will be worthless, he said. “That is why we will file a compensation suit against the commission and the government,” he said, adding that Jamaat will not sign the July Charter without legal grounding.
Taher made the comments to reporters Thursday during a break in ongoing talks with the National Consensus Commission.
The deputy chief also said the country’s electoral system over the past 54 years has been marked by politicization, capture, manipulation, sham elections, voterless polls and night-time voting. He said Bangladesh, like about 90 countries worldwide, now needs a PR (proportional representation) system.
The PR system is in place across Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia, he said. It is a global reality, regardless of whether a country is rich or poor, he said, adding that many countries adopt the system anew each year.
The number of “notes of dissent” recorded in the past 23 days exceeds those of the previous 22 days, Taher said. Even so, that is part of the democratic process, he said. One person may say no, but if the majority is on board, it carries legitimacy. A legal basis can be granted now, he said. Alternatives and precedents exist. Those who say it cannot be done now are misleading the nation, he said.
Without a legal basis, the reform process will be incomplete, Taher said. If implementation does not follow signing, it amounts to a charade, he said. “We are therefore calling on the government and the commission to take immediate steps to fulfill their own pledges,” he said.
“We will not allow the nation to be toyed with any longer,” he warned.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report