The political parties at a consultation with the special committee on constitution amendment at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban expressed their respective opinions.
The JP leaders also opposed any law contradictory to the Quran and Sunnah and any move to ban religion-based political parties and demanded decentralisation of administration through introduction of provincial governments and setting up High Court benches in the divisional headquarters, meeting sources said.
'Bismillah' and 'state religion Islam' should exist in the constitution, JP chairman HM Ershad told the committee in his written statement, adding that the religion-based political parties should not be banned.
The former military dictator also said that a provision for setting up High Court benches in all divisional headquarters should be introduced and during the interim period circuit benches should be established at least for one month in every division.
'We proposed amendments to the caretaker government system cancelling the provision for appointing former chief justices as its chief and fixing up its tenure for maximum 90 days,' Ershad told reporters after the meeting.
Leaders of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal at the meeting proposed that 'Bismillah' and 'state religion Islam' should be dropped from the constitution.
'We proposed restoration of the constitution [as it was adopted in] 1972 and for that "Bismillah" and "state religion Islam" should be dropped from the constitution,' JSD general secretary Sharif Nurul Ambia said in the party's written statement placed in the committee.
The JSD leaders also proposed bringing about changes to the process of election of the president of the republic by expanding the electorates. They said inclusion of the elected local government representatives could be considered to this effect.
They also said that caretaker government system should be retained specifying its tenure for maximum 90 days. They proposed bringing partial changes to the Article 70 by giving more freedom to the lawmakers and formation of an upper house in parliament to make parliamentary system more participatory with the representatives of professional groups.
The Workers Party leaders also opposed retention of the name of any religion in the constitution and proposed a provision for increasing the number of reserved seats for women lawmakers.
'State religion Islam and secularism could never exist together as it is contradictory to Article 2 and Article 12,' the Workers Party general secretary Anisur Rahman Mallik said in his statement, 'Why should there be a state religion,' he asked.
The party leaders also proposed changes in the Article 70 to ensure freedom of the lawmakers, inserting a provision for formation of a 'constitutional commission' or approval by the parliament of the appointment to the constitutional posts.
They also proposed that any extra-constitutional takeover of the state power should be considered as treason and persons involved in such usurpation of power should be put on trial.
The Ganatontri Party leaders at the meeting proposed that the political parties which had opposed the liberation war in the 1971 should be banned. They also called for repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the constitution and constitutional recognition of the ethnic minority communities, the party president Afzal Hossain said.
The committee's scheduled talks with the Awami League today has been shifted to Wednesday as the prime minister and AL president Sheikh Hasina would not be available in Dhaka today.
Source: New Age
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