BNP turns into 'compromising party' allowing President to address parliament: Jamaat MP
He also claimed that had late BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia been present in parliament, she would not have allowed the president to deliver his speech in the House.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Masum Mustafa (Netrakona-5) yesterday (27 April) said BNP has now turned into a "compromising party" by allowing President Mohammed Shahabuddin to address parliament.
"We who are elected by the people are here, the people vote for us not to thank a fascist or an ally of the fascist," he said, participating in the discussion on the thanksgiving motion on the President's speech delivered at the outset of the first session of the 13th Parliament.
Questioning the rationale behind allowing the president to address the House, the Jamaat MP said, "If we can thank fascist Chuppu Saheb (President Mohammed Shahabuddin), then what is the problem to thank Sheikh Hasina?"
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He also claimed that had late BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia been present in Parliament, she would not have allowed the President to deliver his speech in the House.
"By allowing the President, who is an ally of terrorists, to speak in parliament, BNP has turned from the party of an uncompromising leader into a compromising party," Masum said.
He said the President was allowed to speak, showing an excuse of constitutional obligation.
Recalling Khaleda Zia's past remarks, the Jamaat MP said she once said the 1972 Constitution would be thrown away once a people's government was established.
On the implementation of the July Charter, he expressed doubts over the government's commitment, saying treasury bench members say the charter would fully be implemented "word by word," but many people believe there is a hidden deception in those promises.
Masum alleged that dissenting notes given by the BNP in the charter had excluded important elements of the July Charter and warned that implementation without those components would fail to reflect people's aspirations.
He also alleged that conspiracies were underway against Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and said "dominant forces" were trying to mislead him.
"Today, people think that there are conspiracies against our Prime Minister. As we love Khaleda Zia, we love her worthy son too. We want him to succeed in running the country," said the opposition MP, adding that the conspirators are trying to lead the Prime Minister in the wrong direction.
Referring to a recent attack on him, Masum expressed his sincere gratitude to the Speaker, as well as the president and secretary of Netrokona district BNP and others who condemned the incident.
Meanwhile, speaking on the July Charter, State Minister for Planning Zonayed Saki said his party, Ganasamhati Andolon, had submitted its proposal on constitutional reform to the National Consensus Commission on 28 July, 2025.
Saki, the party's former chief coordinator, said his party never insisted that only its proposals must be implemented. "We said there can be no transformation without a minimum national consensus," he told Parliament.
Joining the criticism, another Jamaat lawmaker, Ataur Rahman (Narail-2), said he found no reason to feel any affection for the President's speech, alleging that the President had legitimised all activities of fascism in the past.
He said expressing thanks to the President would deeply hurt the spirit of Khaleda Zia.
The Jamaat MP also made a sharp remark about the President, saying after listening to the speech, he felt either the President's backbone has become heavily strong, or has gone bent. "The latter seems the most accurate to me," he said.
