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AL amendment bill may not be moved during this session

By Moinuddin Naser
The constitution amendment bill notified by Awami League to the Parliament Secretariat is. unlikely to be moved during the current »essk>i, •
Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee for Private Members' Bills Abdur Rab Chowdhury told The Dally Star that It would take several days more to complete the scrutiny of the draft bill.
He said the content of the draft bill Is similar to that of the 1972 constitution. "But after more than 18 years the constitution cannot be a true copy of the 1972 document." Rab Chowdhury said
He said if Awami League remains rigid on Its stand it would be better either to agree or disagree on the draft bill without waiting further.
Deputy Leader of the Opposition Abdus Samad Azad . who moved the draft, however.
told The Dally Star that the bill would be moved In due time and BNP had no option but to allow them to place the bill before the House 'today or. tomorrow'.
Awami League tried to move the bill on the Private Members Day next Thursday. But due to adjournment of the sitting until Friday next due to cyclone, it would not be possible to table the bill.
Besides, the current session of parliament may be prorogued before the next Private Members Day.
Parliament members who are keen to negotiate with the BNP on the form of govern ment told The Dally Star that BNP should also be given time to discuss the matter among themselves.
On the other hand, the BNP Parliamentary Party ( BNP PP). which was supposed to discuss the Issue on May 1. has deferred the meeting due to the emergency arising out of the cyclone.
BNP to also contemplating a dialogue between the Leader of the Houae and the Leader of the Opposition on this issue.
Prime Minister Begum Khakyla Zia may invite Sheikh Hasina and other opposition members of Parliament before the conclusion of the current session to a Eld reunion function. which may open the door for series of meetings between the two major parties
There exist differences of opinion among the BNP leaders over the form of government . While some of them favour the parliamentary form, there are pthers who would like to see the continuation of the present presidential system. albeit by conceding more powers to the Jatiya Sangsad.
Sources close to the BNP chairperson said she had not yet decided her course of action and she might invite open discussion on the issue at the BNP PP meeting to be held at a convenient time.
BNP MP Lt col (retd] Akbar Hossain raised the issue tn the last meeting of the BNPPP But the issue was dropped without elaborate discussion. Akbar said the co-untry was confronting three burning issues — political, law and order and economic. He said without resolving the political issue the two other issues could not be settled.
He said, of late, there has been a growing tendency among certain sections of the people to believe that the existing presidential system breeds autocracy. He pointed to the bad experience under nine years' misrule by the Ershad regime.
But Akbar also condemned Awami League's unilateral move to change the form of government by saying 'It Is nothing but a political stunt, as the party has not bothered to explore the possibility of a dialogue with BNP on this mat ter."
He said BNP also could discuss the Constitution amendment bill to be brought by the Awami League and take steps to place a bill with similar purpose by the treasury bench after reaching a national consensus. He also said that he danger of floor crossing by the MPs in a parliamentary system could be restrained by another amendment to the Constl-tu-tton.
Political observers said that if would be difficult for BNP to go for any sort of amendments to the Constitution without a consensus among all the par ties. Because without the support of A*vaml League BNP will require -the support of both Jatiya Party and Jamaat to amend the Constitution. But any amendment by BNP keeping the form of government as it is now will not get support either from Awaml League or from Jamaat.
Meanwhile the small parties which are in favour of a con sensus between Awaml League and BNP alleged that Awaml League did not want to share the credit of changing the form of government with any other party. Awaml League has already rejected a proposal to form a committee to negotiate with BNP this issue.
JSD leader Shahjahan Sira) told The Daily Star that the unilateral decision of Awaml League might jeopardise the fate of the bill propoaed for changing the form of govern ment.