Home minister’s remarks on reforms would prompt resignation in Canada: Political analyst Dilara 

Political analyst Dilara Choudhury has said that if a minister in Canada had made misleading statements about reforms in parliament, they would have been forced to resign the same day.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed admitted that the government had accepted the July Charter only to secure the election. This is a betrayal of the people and also a betrayal of the party, she said at a national convention "Energy, Economy, Human Rights, Reforms and Referendum", organised by the Reform Implementation Committee of the National Citizen Party (NCP) at the Diploma Engineers Institute in the capital yesterday.

Dilara noted that less than two months have passed since the election, yet concerns over reforms have already emerged as the government is rolling back several institutional reform measures related to enforced disappearances, human rights, ACC, and the judiciary that had been included in the July Charter and related ordinances.

"There was supposed to be a council to oversee appointments in constitutional bodies so that these institutions could operate independently of the executive branch. That has not been implemented either," she added.

Describing the BNP as historically prone to breaking promises, the political analyst said that none of the reform proposals jointly agreed upon by political parties in 1991 were implemented after the BNP came to power. "What have we gained after the 2024 uprising? We are working with a deceptive political force," she questioned.

Dilara further alleged that the country's elite – spanning civil, military, and bureaucratic institutions – are unwilling to relinquish power, which has led to the derailment of reform efforts.

Sociologist Mirza Hasan said the July Charter represents a unique development in Bangladesh's political history, aiming to maintain a balance of power among the three main organs of the state: the judiciary, legislature, and executive.

He said compromises were made under pressure from the BNP. Failure to uphold reform commitments could lead to authoritarian tendencies.

NCP leader Abdul Hannan Masud, who was elected from Noakhali-6, criticised parliament, calling it a "house of deception." 

He said laws that expand government authority have been passed, while those ensuring accountability have been allowed to lapse.

Delivering the welcome speech at the event, Sarwar Tushar, who is also co-chief of the Reform Implementation Committee, said it has now become clear that the BNP government is unwilling to pursue reforms. Many had given them the benefit of the doubt, but the home minister's remarks in the first parliamentary session removed any ambiguity.

Rangpur-4 MP Akhtar Hossain, also member secretary of the NCP, alleged that the government is seeking to consolidate unchecked power rather than pursue reform. 

Akhtar, who presided over the first session of the event, added that disagreements raised in the consensus commission were not central to the process, and following a referendum, the BNP's position would no longer be decisive.