Chairman of the parliamentary special committee on constitutional amendment and Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said the body will recommend an "acceptable" constitutional amendment, taking opinions from political parties and people from all walks of life.
“We want to prepare an acceptable amendment proposal with the opinions of people from all classes and professions, including political parties,” he told reporters, coming out from the committee's first meeting in the midway.
The first meeting of the committee began around 12:30 pm and concluded at about 1:30 pm at the Cabinet Room of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
Salahuddin said the committee would adopt an open and inclusive approach in formulating its recommendations.
"As we are liberal and open, we will listen to everyone. We will incorporate all necessary proposals for amendments and prepare our report accordingly," he said.
He said the committee's recommendations would later be translated into a constitutional amendment bill, which would be placed before Parliament.
"The bill will be discussed in Parliament, and we want to adopt the amendment through understanding so that it reflects public expectations," he said.
The chief of the parliamentary special body said the committee would also seek to incorporate the state structure related promised democratic reforms into the proposed amendments.
He said the committee sat in its first meeting to discuss the preparation of a list of persons and organisations to be consulted, as well as fixing a schedule for the consultations.
The committee plans to seek opinions from constitutional experts, lawyers, political parties, professional bodies and other stakeholders.
Salahuddin said any person or organisation interested in offering suggestions would also be given the opportunity to do so.
He, however, could not specify when the committee would submit its report, saying the timeframe has yet to be determined.
On the opposition's absence from the committee, Salahuddin said the government had requested the opposition to nominate five representatives, but the names have not yet been received.
"We still hope they will reconsider and submit the names. We will also hold discussions with them," he said.
He added that even if the opposition does not nominate members, the committee will still seek opinions from all opposition lawmakers.
Suggestions may be submitted during committee meetings or in writing outside the meetings, he said.
"We want to bring forward an acceptable amendment that reflects public aspirations. We want to adopt a report through discussions with everyone," Salahuddin added.
The committee will review 48 constitutional reform proposals included in the July National Charter.
Proposals on which political parties reached consensus will be incorporated into the amendment recommendations, while issues where the BNP registered dissent will be considered as notes of dissent, he said.
Salahuddin said the committee would also examine constitutional reform commitments included in the BNP's election manifesto, but not reflected in the July National Charter.
Referring to the 2024 July mass uprising, the Home Minister said public expectations have risen significantly following the uprising.
He stressed the need to rebuild Bangladesh in line with the aspirations of those who sacrificed their lives in the July uprising.