JS body sits Saturday to finalize proposals                   

The parliamentary special committee on constitutional amendment will sit again on Saturday to prepare a proposal on amending the country’s charter. The committee will later discuss the proposal with the prime minister, Suranjit Sengupta, co-chair of the committee, told a press briefing on Thursday in the parliament's media centre after its meeting The committee discussed the Supreme Court verdicts on fifth and seventh amendments to the constitution, said Suranjit, also spokesman of the committee. After discussion with the PM, the committee will place its proposals before the parliament, the committee co-chair said, adding that they will try their best to place the proposals during the ongoing parliament session. "A political consensus is necessary to find a suitable system for the caretaker government as the system is more political than the legislative. For this, the BNP should come with open mind and place its opinion on the issue," he said. Meanwhile, Sector Commanders Forum (SCF), a platform of people who led the country’s Liberation War in 1971, on Thursday demanded the parliamentary special body to have a provision in the constitution banning religion-based political parties. SCF leaders placed the three-point demand at a meeting with the special committee at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. The two other demands are: keeping secularism in the republic's charter as the state policy after scrapping the Islam as state religion and dropping ‘Bismillah’ from the constitution. Emerging from the hour-long meeting, SCF Vice-Chairman Maj Gen (retd) KM Safiullah told reporters that they have favoured a constitutional reform in light of the spirit of the country’s original charter of 1972. Several members of the parliamentary special committee welcomed the recommendations on constitutional amendment, meeting source said. 

Tanim Prodhan