Jamaat will skip oaths if BNP refuses to join Costitutional Reform Council: Taher

Jamaat's Nayebe Amir Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher has said that if the BNP-backed newly elected members of parliament do not take oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council, Jamaat will skip the oath taking ceremony.

He made this statement to the media on Tuesday (February 17).

He said that the time for the oath-taking ceremony of our newly elected members of parliament has been fixed at 12 noon and we will be present there. However, if BNP does not take the oath of the Constitutional Reform Council, the newly elected members of parliament from Jamaat will not take part in the oath-taking. We think that a parliament without reforms is meaningless.

Meanwhile, the members of parliament elected from BNP took oath as members of parliament in the morning. BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said, 'There is no opportunity to take oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council before the constitution is amended. None of us was elected as members of the Constitutional Reform Council. If it is constitutionally accepted in the National Parliament, steps can be taken in this regard.’

He further said that this decision has been taken on the instructions of party chairman Tarique Rahman and BNP will abide by the constitution and will continue to do so in the future.

It is to be noted that since the ‘Yes’ vote won in the referendum, a Constitutional Reform Council is to be formed in accordance with the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, comprising the representatives elected in the 13th National Elections.

Accordingly, the elected persons are to take oath first as members of parliament and then as members of the Constitutional Reform Council.

However, the newly elected members of parliament of BNP are not taking oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council.