Proposal made to appoint JS speaker as caretaker govt chief: Salahuddin

The speaker of a potential upper house could be made the chief of the caretaker government following consultations with the Opposition Party, according to a new proposal made during a meeting of the special committee on constitutional amendments on Saturday.

The committee, comprising ruling party lawmakers, held the meeting with prominent lawyers and constitution experts at the Cabinet Office of the National Parliament in the capital.

In the meeting, many proposed keeping the judiciary and the president away from the caretaker government positions, and also suggested making the speaker of the proposed upper house as the chief of the next election-time government, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told reporters after the meeting.

The meeting participants proposed that the partisan government hold prior-consultations with the Opposition lawmakers before appointing the speaker, who traditionally has been tied to the ruling party, as the chief of the caretaker government ahead of the general elections, said Salahuddin, also president of the constitution amendment committee.

Proposals were made to form the caretaker government with members of the upper house of the parliament, which has been proposed under the July Charter, and make the speaker of the upper house as the chief of the election-time government, Salahuddin said.

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The tenure of the upper house would continue after that of the lower house expires, it was proposed, according to Salahuddin.

These proposals could be adopted, he noted.

If a deputy president post is created, then the deputy president could be made the speaker of the upper house, he further said.

The law and constitution experts particularly emphasised garnering support from the opposition before picking members of the upper house for the election-time government.

It was not clear if, under the new proposal, the opposition support would be a pre-requisite for appointing the speaker as the caretaker government chief.

Some discussants also questioned the need for forming an upper house of parliament in a small country like Bangladesh, and instead suggested a special advisory panel, the home minister added.

In Saturday’s meeting, topics including the balance of power between the president and the prime minister, judicial independence, Article 70, independence of constitutional bodies, and the caretaker government were discussed.

The BNP government and BNP lawmakers wish to amend the constitution in the appropriate manner by holding consultations with all the stakeholders, said Salahuddin after the meeting.

The BNP government is elected by the people and would not “follow the path of the unelected Awami League regime,” which Salahuddin said had amended the constitution at will to prolong its hold on power.

If the Opposition lawmakers want the government to relax or alter “notes of dissent” submitted by the ruling party, they can place the demands only after joining the constitutional amendment committee, Salahuddin said.

The government wants the Opposition to join the amendment process, he added.

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He also said that the constitution reform council, which the interim government endorsed and the Opposition is now demanding, is invalid as it was never part of the constitution.

However, the BNP government recognises the referendum hosted by the interim government, but there are issues with the questions included in the referendum ballots, Salahuddin further said.

If a new referendum is held for the constitution amendment process, it would be a constitutional referendum, he noted.