Four left-leaning political parties have raised strong objections to the National Consensus Commission's proposal to redefine the guiding principles of state policy in the constitution.
Those parties are the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (Basad), Basad (Marxist), and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasad).
The commission had suggested incorporating equality, human dignity, social justice, democracy, and religious freedom and harmony as fundamental principles of governance.
While several political parties, including the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizen Party (NCP), expressed support for the proposal, the leftist parties dissented strongly.
The objections were raised today during the 19th day of the second phase of political dialogues at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.
Speaking to reporters during the lunch break, CPB General Secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince said, "It is not possible to achieve national consensus on the fundamental principles of the constitution through this process, as participants represent diverse ideological backgrounds. The matter must be placed before the people. Political parties should declare their positions publicly, and the people should decide."
The communist party leader added that while the current constitution, born out of the Liberation War, contains gaps, his party is willing to engage in constructive discussion.
"However, we will not compromise on core principles," he said.
He proposed an alternative formulation.
"In the section on fundamental principles of state policy, equality, human dignity, social justice, and religious freedom and harmony could be added to the four original principles of the 1972 Constitution—nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism," he said.
Ruhin further warned that manipulating or altering the constitution's core principles by dint of majority would constitute a betrayal of its Liberation War roots.
"If this continues, our regular participation in the commission's dialogue will be at risk," he said, adding that such moves could derail the entire consensus-building effort.
BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said, "We have no objection to the proposed state principles. In fact, this was our suggestion."
Echoing this view, Abul Hasan Rubel, executive coordinator of Gonosonghoti Andolon, said the inclusion of Liberation War-based principles -- such as equality, human dignity, social justice, democracy, and religious freedom -- was especially relevant given discussions around the potential repeal of the Fifteenth Amendment.
He argued that "controversial concepts like socialism and nationalism" should be replaced with a more inclusive and a constitutional framework that reflects the current aspirations of the Bangladeshi people.
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman Shahadat Hossain Selim said, "Most political parties agree that a return to the 1972 Constitution is not practical, as socialism has become globally outdated."
NCP Secretary Akhter Hossain also welcomed the proposal, saying, "Our party's position is to discard the earlier principles entirely. We support the commission's draft and do not wish to revisit past ideological debates."
