Dhaka, 17 Jul (V7N)- Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that the significance of July should not be used as a means of gaining political power, amid ongoing debate over the implementation of the July Charter.

He made the remarks while addressing a discussion meeting at the National Press Club on Friday (July 17), organized to mark the sixth death anniversary of former Emajuddin Ahmed.

“The opposition wants to use July to come to power. We do not want July to become a tool to come to power,” Mirza Fakhrul said.

Referring to the July Charter, he stated that it should be implemented in its entirety but alleged that certain provisions had been included without his party's consent.

“We signed the July Charter together. There was no discussion with us regarding part of the referendum proposal. We did not agree to proportional representation in the upper house. At that time, I said the nation had been deceived. Those provisions were later included in the July Charter by the National Consensus Commission without our consent,” he said.

The minister also distinguished between constitutional amendment and constitutional reform, saying his party had consistently supported amendments but had never advocated rewriting the Constitution.

“We have always said that we want to amend the Constitution. We have never spoken of reforming it. The BNP introduced multi-party democracy after one-party rule and later established the caretaker government system through parliamentary consensus,” he said.

Mirza Fakhrul further said that discussions on constitutional reform were, in his view, being used to mislead the public.

Recalling the movement against authoritarianism, he said efforts had been made to unite intellectuals and civil society in support of democratic change.

“By the infinite mercy of Allah, we achieved a new Bangladesh through the mass uprising led by students. We now aspire to build a truly democratic state,” he said.

He also praised Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, saying he was working closely with the people and promoting the slogan “Bangladesh First.”

Concluding his remarks, the minister said the July movement represented more than a single month, describing it as the culmination of a long struggle against authoritarianism that eventually took shape in July.

END/SMA/AJ