Fakhrul accuses Consensus Commission of misleading actions, demands inclusion of dissenting opinions

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday accused the National Consensus Commission of misleading the public and political parties through its final set of recommendations, demanding that the document be corrected immediately by including the notes of dissent.

“The Consensus Commission submitted its final recommendations to the Chief Adviser, who also chairs the Commission, on Tuesday. We were shocked to see that the issues we had clearly disagreed on — for which we had submitted formal notes of dissent — were completely disregarded,” he said.

Fakhrul made the remarks while addressing the launch of journalist Ehsan Mahmud’s book Trial, Reform and Election: Bangladesh under Interim at the Jatiya Press Club.

He noted that the Commission had earlier assured that all dissenting opinions would be officially recorded.

“But when the recommendations were made public, those notes were entirely omitted. This cannot be called a consensus — it is a deception of the people and the political parties. These issues must be corrected without delay,” Fakhrul asserted.

He said the root of all the country’s problems lies in holding a genuine election that would produce a truly representative parliament capable of enacting constitutional reforms and steering the nation accordingly.

“I want to draw the attention of the Chief Adviser. You have pledged to the people to implement necessary reforms and hold a credible election. The parliament formed through that election should be the platform to resolve these national crises,” Fakhrul said.

“I want to make it clear that if there is any deviation from this commitment, or if steps are taken beyond this mandate, you will have to bear full responsibility,” he warned.

Fakhrul expressed hope that the government would recognise the need to revise the Commission’s recommendations in line with the consensus reached among all parties and ensure that dissenting views are properly documented.

“Only through such an election can we establish a truly representative parliament and restore people’s rule in the country,” he added.

Rejecting allegations that BNP opposes reform, Fakhrul said, “A false campaign has been launched to depict BNP as anti-reform. This is entirely baseless and politically motivated. BNP is not against reform in any form.”