Only 3 in BNP saw revised charter

The new provisional constitution of BNP has been virtually a secret document as only the party 'high command' and the Election Commission (EC) officials so far had the seemingly coveted privilege of having copies of it.
Even the party's standing committee members, who ostensibly approved the amendments to the original constitution, are yet to get copies or know its details, alleged party insiders.
Even the draft of the interim constitution had not been distributed among all standing committee members for their scrutiny, although BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain told reporters that the provisional constitution had been approved 'unanimously' in the standing committee after a two-hour long meeting on Sunday.
The party insiders said only Chairperson Khaleda Zia, Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain, and Joint Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan were involved in the process of bringing changes to the original constitution, as the 'high command' did not want to publicise the details.
"I discussed the draft constitution in the standing committee meeting on the basis of my personal opinions without seeing any copy of it," a standing committee member told The Daily Star last night requesting anonymity.
"We had no opportunity to comment on the draft as we did not get copies of it," he said adding that he already asked the 'high command' for a copy of the 'approved’ provisional constitution.
When asked about the questionable process of amending the party's constitution, RA Ghani, a senior member of the standing committee, told The Daily Star on Monday that he also did not get any copy.
The Daily Star yesterday contacted three members of the standing committee, all of whom said they did not see any copy of the draft.
One of them however said the 'high command' assured them that they will be provided with the 'standing committee approved provisional constitution' after it is printed.
Some other BNP leaders told The Daily Star that they had also asked the 'high command' for copies of the provisional constitution but had yet to get it.
Late in the night on October 19, BNP standing committee brought some major changes to its constitution for gaining eligibility for registration with the Election Commission (EC) to contest in the upcoming parliamentary poll.
The meeting was attended by nine members of the committee including the party chief.