Shujan Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar on Wednesday said Bangladesh is facing a severe crisis and stressed that national unity is essential to address the situation.
He made the remarks at a roundtable titled “Revocation of Ordinances and the Politics of Rejecting Referendums: Bangladesh in an Era of Parliamentary Authoritarianism,” organized by the Reform Implementation Committee of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) at the National Press Club’s Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia Hall on Wednesday afternoon.
Badiul said the country is being affected by global crises, particularly tensions in the Middle East, which are pushing the situation towards further uncertainty. “This is not of our making, but we will have to endure its consequences and deal with it ourselves,” he said.
He noted that while external pressures are mounting, the country is also creating new challenges internally, including disregarding referendum outcomes and attempting to repeal ordinances aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability. “Effective measures are needed to safeguard public welfare. Although some problems originate externally, we are also generating unnecessary complications ourselves,” he added.
Referring to the referendum and the July National Charter, he said the outcome endorsed by the people should have been final and fully implemented.
He described objections raised in the name of the Constitution as “weak arguments,” citing the example of 1990 when Shahabuddin Ahmed became head of the caretaker government despite the absence of such a provision in the Constitution. “He later returned to his previous position—was that in the Constitution? It was done on the basis of consensus,” he said.
He added that at the time, consensus existed among several political parties, even though the Jatiya Party was not part of it. “Still, the framework of the three alliances was implemented. It was not even formally signed, but political parties agreed in the interest of the people,” he noted.
Speaking about the “note of dissent,” Badiul said it refers to a minority view. “If a 14-member parliamentary committee has 11 members from the ruling party and three from the opposition, decisions will naturally be based on the majority. The majority view of the consensus commission is the decision, and that has already been approved in the referendum. These arguments are not convincing,” he said, adding that such steps would further deepen the crisis.
He also warned that the unity forged under youth leadership, which had led to the fall of an authoritarian system and inspired hopes for a new future, is now at risk of breaking down. “This division and unnecessary polarization could undermine our achievement.”
Calling on the government, ruling party MPs and policymakers, he urged them to foster national unity. “At this critical time, unity is our greatest need. Otherwise, we will head towards another crisis, the consequences of which will be borne by both the people and those in power,” he said.
Urging lessons from history, he said a two-thirds majority can sometimes turn into a curse—“the curse of a two-thirds majority.” “It is time to reflect on whether we are repeating past mistakes or taking a different path,” he added.
The discussion, moderated by Faridul Haque, was also addressed by Barrister Abu Hena Razzaqi, Dilara Chowdhury, Farida Akhter, Fahim Mashroor, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, Sarjis Alam, Sarwar Tushar, Javed Rasin, Monira Sharmin, Salehuddin Sifat, Arman Hossain and Molla Mohammad Faruk Ehsan.
