Opposition Party Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami MP Shafiqul Islam declared in parliament on Monday that if the constitution were to be strictly adhered to, both the prime minister and home minister would not be in the country but abroad, while defending the referendum and July Charter Implementation Order amid ongoing debate.
Speaking during discussion on the motion of thanks to the President's address in the Jatiya Sangsad, Shafiqul Islam said, "If we had to follow the constitution, the prime minister should not be in Bangladesh but outside the country. If the constitution had to be followed, the current home minister should now be outside the country."
The Jamaat MP expressed concern about potential discrimination similar to the past 17 years and said he has not seen effective progress in the trial for Sharif Osman Hadi's killing since the current government took office.
Pointing to the ruling party's stance on the referendum and July Charter Implementation Order, he said, "If the constitution could have protected us, we would have had to search its pages to remove sand trucks that day. If the 1972 constitution could protect us, we would not be here today. We would be in jail, not in this parliament."
PT/ra
