Will oppose July Proclamation of interim govt. if it goes against Constitution of Bangladesh: BNP general secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir

The July Proclamation that is being planned on the anniversary of the anti-Sheikh Hasina uprising on Tuesday (August 5, 2025) in Dhaka will be opposed if it goes against the constitution of Bangladesh, said a senior leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Monday (August 4).

Speaking to The Hindu, the party’s general secretary, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, said the interim government had consulted various stakeholders before going ahead with the planned announcement of the July Charter on Tuesday (August 5), but cautioned that the charter should not go against the 1972 constitution of Bangladesh which is based on the sacrifices of 1971 Liberation War.

“The interim government sent us a draft of the July Proclamation some weeks ago. We did not find anything objectionable in that draft but we do not know what will be the exact draft of the proclamation that will be launched on 5 August. If we find that the proclamation goes against our existing constitution, then we will oppose it,” said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir ahead of Tuesday’s launch of the July Proclamation which is also being described as July Charter.

Mr. Alamgir’s remarks came hours after the interim government announced that Chief Adviser Prof Mohammed Yunus will announce the July Proclamation at 5 pm, Tuesday at the southern plaza of the Jatiyo Sansad, the parliament of Bangladesh.

The July Proclamation came into focus in December 2024 when the student-activists who are among core support groups of the interim government, announced that they wanted to use the July Proclamation to ‘bury’ the 1972 constitution of Bangladesh. The attempt of the student activists was however not successful and the interim government stepped in and decided to carry forward the idea of the proclamation. In his Id speech on 6 June, Prof Yunus revived the idea of the July Proclamation saying that the text of the proclamation had been agreed upon by “all parties”. Mr. Alamgir however told The Hindu that the interim government has not made BNP a signatory to the proclamation.

“The July proclamation is being brought by the government to highlight the uprising of July-August 2024. But we were not asked to put our signatures to it,” said Mr Alamgir speaking to The Hindu over telephone from Dhaka even as doubts persist over the BNP’s participation in Tuesday’s programme.

BNP leaders have not declined the invitation of the interim government to participate in the event in the parliament of Bangladesh though it is understood that a small team from the party is most likely to be at the event as BNP is waiting to see the final draft of the proclamation. BNP which is one of the two major political formations – the other being Awami League – to have governed Bangladesh since 1972 constitution was launched, believes that framing of any guiding principle for the country should be undertaken by elected representatives and not by an interim administration.

In the meanwhile, traffic guidelines have been issued for Tuesday as the capital of Bangladesh prepares for the launch of the July Charter. Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Abdul Kalam Azad Majumdar said that the Prof Yunus will read the document personally as Bangladesh marks a year since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.