‘We want to amend, not reform, the constitution’ - Says Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday accused opposition parties of misleading the public over the July Charter, reiterating that the BNP remains committed to implementing every provision agreed upon in the document.

Speaking at a memorial meeting at the Zahur Hossain Chowdhury Hall of the National Press Club in Dhaka, Fakhrul said claims that the BNP was unwilling to implement the charter were false.

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“The opposition is saying that if the demand to implement the July Charter is not met in parliament, the issue will be settled on the streets. This issue is being raised to mislead people,” he said.

Fakhrul said all parties involved in the July 2024 movement had signed the charter.

However, he maintained that the party had never agreed to proportional representation in the proposed upper house.

“There was no discussion with us about that part of the referendum. I said at the time that the nation had been deceived. The reform commission brought those proposals without our consent,” he said.

“We are committed to implementing the July Charter, but it should be implemented in the way we agreed,” he said.

The BNP leader also defended his party’s reform record, saying, “We have always said that we want to amend the constitution. We have never talked about reforming the constitution,” he said.

He alleged that some opponents wanted to use the July Charter “only to come to power”, adding that the July 2024 movement was the culmination of BNP’s long struggle against what he described as fascism.