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BNP, Opposition groups reach consensus

Amendment Bills cleared, to be placed in JS today

By Mustafa Kamal Majumder
The ruling BNP and the Opposition In the Parliament Saturday ironed out their differences and reached consensus on the Constitution ' Amendment Bills for switchover to parliamentary form of government.
The 15 member Parliamentary Select Committee drawn from both the ruling party and the opposition unanimously adopted a report giving final shapes to the seven Constitution Amendment Bills Including the 11 th and the 12th tabled by the BNP.
The report .will be submitted to the Parliament today, an announcement from the Parliament Secretariat said.
The report proposes to incorporate with the Treasury Bench bills certain provisions of the Private Member's Bills of Abdus Samad Azad and Hashed Khan Menon.
The consensus fulfils the November 18 Joint declaration of the eight, seven and five party alliances for establishing parliamentary form of government on which united movement was launched.
The bills are expected to be passed by the House after three to four days of extensive discussion. After the passage by a two-third majority, the bills will be forwarded to the Acting President. The Acting President will, within seven days. refer the 12th Amendment Bill to a referen- 'dum.
No referendum will be required for the 11th Amendment Bill which seeks to validate the appointment of Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed as Vice-President, and all his actions as Acting President.
Meanwhile, the Referen-dum Bill introduced by the ruling party will be passed before the prorogation of the Parliament. A referendum will be organised on the basis of this law.
Law Minister Mirza Go lam Hafiz who is the Chairman of the Select Committee told the Daily Star, "I am very happy. We have produced a historic document after 18 days of hectic work in a friendly and cordial atmosphere."
"Initially," he continued, "we had some differences." "Gradually the differences disappeared as all the members of the committee had the urge to work unitedly and expedite to the process of changing the presidential system after sixteen years."
Resolutions
The Committee came to a consensus that the proposal made In the 12 Amendment Bill to disqualify a member, vacating his seat on the charge of floor crossing, from contesting in parliamentary elections for five years will go.
Similarly the proposal that an MP will vacate his seat If he Is expelled from his party will also be deleted.
The proposed provision against formation of groups within a party, in the Parliament has been rewritten. The Select Committee has suggested that if any such group was formed, the matter should be brought to the notice of the speaker who would decide which leader commanded support of the majority of MPs of the party. After the majority is proved MPs in the minority groups would be asked to accept the leadership of the majority leader. MPs falling to do so would be hold responsible individually and they would lose memberships. The existing provision against floor crossing made between 1972 and 1975 will
The members of the committee agreed that ten per cent of the ministers could be appointed from amongst non-MPs with a view to helping take the services of technocrats for efficient running of the government.
The government side has accepted the opposition de-mand that the election of the President under the amended constitution will be conducted by the Chief Election Commissioner. The amendment bill, however, remained silent as to whether elections will be held in a secret or an open ballot. An ordinaiy law will be passed subsequently detailing on the election of the President by the members of the Parliament.
The Committee has agreed that the 12th Amendment Bill will seek to protect only the Preamble (containing bismil-lah), and Article 8 (containing the basic principles of state policy as they stand now after the Fifth Amendment), by a guarantee clause requiring that amendment to those should have to be okayed by referendum. The government bill had earlier sought to put two more Articles — 80 and 92A — under this guarantee clause. These two Articles empower the President to return a Bill passed by the Parliament for reconsideration, and to withdraw money from the consolidated fund of the republic for 120 days if the Parliament fails to make grants.
AL members in the Committee were, in keeping with the proposal made in their bill. In favour of deleting the guarantee clause altogether. Subsequently, however, some other opposition members in the Committee felt that such a clause might be needed even to protect the parliamentary system the Bills seek to establish.
The Committee has accepted a proposal made In one of the four Bills introduced by Rashed Khan Menon that foreign treaties connected with national security should be laid in a secret session of the Parliament. Article 145A of the existing Constitution provides for laying of all treaties with foreign countries before the Parliament. But the President can withhold the laying of any treaty which he considers against the national interest to do so.
Finally. the report proposes to insert a provision made in the AL bill, that the Acting President shall be eligible to resume the duties and responsibilities of the Chief Justice of Bangladesh after the election of a new President and the latter’s entering upon the office. The 11th Amendment Bill of the ruling party had originally proposed that the Acting President would be eligible to go back to the Supreme Court Bench after the commencement of the 11th Amendment Act which is not subject to a referendum to become operational.
Law Minister Mirza Golam Hafiz said he will submit the report to the House today. Discussions on the bills will start tomorrow
The adjustments proposed by th6 Select Committee will come to the House in form of Amendments to the 11 th and 12th Amendment Bills.
All the 15 Select Committee members signed the report after a meeting at the Sangsad Bhaban on Friday. The report contained In seven pages of typed full-scape paper was immediately sent for printing on the day.
UNB adds : Other members of the Committee are: Dr Badruddoza Chowdhury. Abdus Samad Azad. Maj Oen (Rtd) aldul Haq, Barrister Abdus am Talukder, Sheikh Razzak All, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, Barrister Nazmul Huda, Barrister Rafiqul Islam Mia. Mesbahuddtn. Sudhangahu Shekhar Halder, Col (Rtd) Shawkat All. Rashed Khan Menon, Moudud Ahmed and Sheikh Ansar All.
After signing of the report. Law Minister Mirza Golam Hafiz thanked the members for their cooperation In reaching the consensus on the constitution amendment bills.