Most of the intellectuals at the consultation meeting with the special parliamentary committee on constitution amendment on Tuesday proposed that the fundamental principles of constitution as it was in 1972 should be restored by dropping Islam as the state religion and Bismillah.
They also proposed to ensure freedom of lawmakers to express their opinion in the parliament against the party decision by bringing about changes in Article 70 and to bring about changes in caretaker government provision on a consensus of political parties, sources attending meeting said.
'I have proposed to restore the four basic principles to the constitution as they were in 1972 and all the amendments should be taken place with the spirit of the basic principles,' economist Rehman Sobhan told reporters after the meeting.
He said that there should be a balance between the power of the president and the prime minister to check the abuse of power by the president during the caretaker regime.
'Lawmakers should have the liberty to express their opinion in issues except for two or three specific cases such as no confidence motion and budget proposal,' he said adding that
amendment to Article 70 of the constitution essential was in this regard.
National professor Kabir Chowdhury proposed to restore the four fundamental principles to the constitution and said there would be no state religion and Bismillah.
'I have also proposed to ban religion-based politics and ensure rights of the people and insert provision for mandatory presence of lawmakers in the parliament,' he told reporters after the meeting.
'I proposed to reconsider the power of the president and any decision regarding the caretaker government should be taken on a consensus of political parties,' former adviser to the caretaker Akbar Ali Khan said adding that he had proposed to form an election observation commission to check rigging in polls.
He proposed to empower the president to reconsider any recommendation sent to the president from the Prime Minister's Office and in case of disapproval the recommendation could be placed in the cabinet again.
Journalist ABM Musa proposed that the committee should amend Article 70 of the constitution so that the lawmakers could express their independent thought on any issue even if it was against the party decision.
Former adviser to the caretaker government Sultana Kamal also proposed to drop Islam as the state religion and Bismillah from the constitution and insert provision so that no religion-based politics would be allowed.
She also said that the lawmakers should have the right to express independent opinions in issues against the party decision but for issues such as no confidence motion and the budget proposal.
Former adviser to the caretaker government Hafizuddin Ahmed proposed to uphold Islam as the state religion and Bismillah in the constitution in view of the reality.
'Considering the present reality, it is tough to drop Islam as the state religion and Bismillah from the constitution,' he told New Age after the meeting.
He requested the committee to uphold the provision for allowing religion-based politics and allowing any part to contest elections if the parties follow the Representation of the People Order.
Shahriyar Kabir proposed that the committee should restore the four fundamental principles to the constitution as there was no provision for state religion in any country of the world.
'We have proposed to insert the address of March 7, 1971 given by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the proclamation of the independence in the constitution,' he said adding that no discrimination could be there in the constitution.
Asif Nazrul opposed the provision for Islam as the state religion but he proposed that religion-based politics should exist.
'I have proposed that religion-based politics should exist as it is the right to expression, thought and philosophy,' Asif Nazrul told New Age, adding that even a number of religion-based political parties are there in India which is a secular state.
Talking with New Age, a committee member said that all of the intellectuals but for one or two proposed to restore the four fundamental principles to the constitution and drop Islam as the state religion and Bismillah from the constitution.
Zillur Rahman Siddique, AAMS Arefin Siddique, Muntassir Mamoon, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Syed Shamsul Haque, Debapriya Bhattacharya, SM Shahajahan, Mizanur Rahman and Badiul Alam Majumdar, among others, also gave their opinions at the meeting.
Earlier, the special committee met former chief justices, legal experts, political parties. It is scheduled to meet editors of national daily newspapers today.
The prime minister on July 21, 2010 instituted the 15-member special parliamentary committee to recommend amendment proposals for the constitution following a High Court verdict that declared illegal the fifth amendment to the constitution.
The committee is headed by deputy leader of the house, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury.
After the second and final review by the committee, a bill for constitution amendment would be placed in the parliament in late May.
Source: New Age
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