Proposed Interim Govt
Suranjit for code of conduct
Seasoned lawmaker Suranjit Sengupta has said a code of conduct could be enacted for an interim government, which will remain in office during the parliamentary elections.
Suranjit, also chief of the parliamentary standing committee on the law ministry, came up with the proposal on Monday, participating in the proposed budget for the next fiscal.
He also proposed further strengthening of the Election Commission (EC) by enacting new laws and said the commission could even be provided with the authority to control the ministries of home and defence during the poll period when the interim government will just discharge some routine works.
According to the proposed changes to the constitution, the parliamentary elections will be held within 90 days into the dissolution of a parliament.
An elected political government will be holding the office during this period, as the provision of caretaker government system will not exist in the charter once the amendment bill is passed.
Suranjit said the elected government will be turned into an interim government during the election period. He termed the interim government a "built-in system" in the original constitution of 1972.
"But we discarded the system and had accepted the caretaker government provision due to confrontational culture of politics," he said.
The Awami League leader said introduction of non-elected and non-political caretaker government system took away people's right and increased mistrust among the political parties.
He said that after all the three parliamentary elections held under caretaker government, the defeated political party rejected the elections results, raising allegation of rigging. "And every parliament was made ineffective due to boycott by the defeated party".
Referring to the regime of the last caretaker government, Suranjit expressed fear that military usurpation may happen if a non-elected and non-political government again resumes power. "But we can't allow this to take place".
Suranjit, who was co-chair of the parliamentary special committee on constitutional amendment, said that in this sub-continent, all the national elections since 1935 have been held under the interim governments.
Introduction of the caretaker government in Bangladesh in 1996 made a deviation to the long history of holding the general elections, he added.
Urging the main opposition BNP to sit in talks, Suranjit said, "Let's sit together to discuss how to strengthen the Election Commission more for holding free and fair elections."
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