Constitutional reforms to be decided by student-people: Home adviser

Home affairs adviser AF Hasan Arif on Sunday said the student-led demonstrators, who toppled Awami League tyrants last month, would decide how to reform the constitution, and when to hold the next general elections.

He was speaking with reporters after an executive committee meeting held on controlling mosquito-borne diseases at Bangladesh Secretariat in the capital.

Hasan Arif confirmed consultations have started over amending or rewriting the constitution, but the process would take time, in reply to queries about the reform initiatives undertaken in the first month since the formation of interim government.

Formulating the country’s constitution also took time, and it has been in effect for 52 years. Naturally, it cannot be changed overnight, Hasan Arif suggested.

Ultimately, it is the student-people who would decide whether they want to amend parts of the constitution or draft a new one from scratch, Hasan Arif noted.

The student-people freedom activists would also decide the date for holding the next national elections and whether the poll-time caretaker government would be reintroduced.

However, the reforms, needed to create a congenial atmosphere for holding polls, would take time to be implemented, he observed.

For perspective, he said the law and order situation is still volatile due to the politicisation of law enforcement agencies by the corrupt Awami League government.