Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Mia Golam Porwar on Saturday accused the government of driving the country towards a serious political and constitutional crisis by failing to honour what he described as the people’s mandate expressed through a referendum.
He alleged that the outcome of the referendum is being sidelined under the cover of the July Charter, calling it not merely a political tactic but a position that contradicts public opinion.
Mia Golam Porwar made the remarks at a seminar titled “Government against Referendum Verdict: A Country Facing Crisis,” organised by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Khulna Metropolitan unit at the Khulna Press Club.
According to him, the government is creating confusion by separating the July Charter from the referendum results. He claimed that although ministers have repeatedly pledged to implement the charter in Parliament, they have remained silent about directly enforcing the referendum verdict.
Highlighting proposed constitutional reforms, Mia Golam Porwar Porwar said 47 out of 84 recommendations require legal and constitutional amendments. While there is broad agreement on many issues, he criticised the BNP for dissenting on 10 key points, arguing that excluding those provisions would weaken the overall reform framework.
The contested issues, he said, include restrictions on the Prime Minister holding party leadership simultaneously, the introduction of proportional representation in the upper house, mandatory parliamentary ratification of international treaties, formation of an independent body for judicial appointments, and reducing executive influence over institutions like the Public Service Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Mia Golam Porwar argued that rejecting these measures reflects an intent to retain political control. He stressed that the referendum - participated in by an estimated five crore people -represents direct public authority, which he said carries greater weight than the delegated power exercised by Parliament.
Referring to constitutional principles, he maintained that sovereignty ultimately lies with the people, and ignoring their decision amounts to undermining that authority.
He described the government’s position as authoritarian and warned that continued disregard for the referendum could lead to renewed instability and unrest.
“If the verdict is not implemented in Parliament, we will return to the people. A movement will become inevitable,” he said.
The Jamaat leader urged the government to act quickly to respect the referendum outcome, cautioning that failure to do so could deepen the crisis and leave the administration responsible for the consequences.
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