Faced veto for trying to exclude state religion: Amu

Awami League leader Amir Hossain Amu yesterday said during the process of bringing 15th amendment to the constitution, they faced opposition among themselves about exclusion of the "state religion".

"We wanted to abolish the state religion. But it could not happen as one or two members vetoed," said Amu, coordinator of AL-led 14-party alliance.

He was speaking at a discussion on "Bangabandhu's Assassination: Internal conspiracies and US involvement", held by 14-party member Workers Party of Bangladesh at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in Dhaka.

A special parliamentary body for a constitutional amendment was formed in July 2010 to aid the constitutional amendments. The 15-member committee, headed by Deputy Leader of Parliament Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, has only AL-led ruling alliance lawmakers as BNP declined to nominate a representative. Amu was its member.

Parliament on June 30, 2011 passed the 15th amendment retaining Islam's status as the state religion.

Earlier, secularism was removed from the constitution through the fifth amendment by Ziaur Rahman, and Islam was declared as the state religion in 1988 by HM Ershad through eighth amendment.

Yesterday, Amu told the programme that it is clear that who the beneficiaries of Bangabandhu's assassination are. "He was assassinated for adding four principles to the constitution, including secularism and socialism."

At the event, speakers also demanded that an independent inquiry commission be set up to find out the mastermind behind Bangabandhu's assassination.

Among others, Jatiya Samajtanrik Dal President Hasanul Haq Inu, Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee President Shahriar Kabir and journalist Sohorab Hossian spoke at the discussion.