BNP attends day 3 talks with Consensus Commission

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) joined the third day dialogue with the National Consensus Commission on Tuesday morning.

The Commission is holding a series of talks with political parties to forge a national consensus on state reform initiatives undertaken by the interim government.

A four-member BNP delegation, led by its Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed, participated in the talks at 11:10am at the LD Hall of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

The discussion is going on with National Consensus Commission Vice-Chairman Prof Ali Riaz in the chair.

BNP Chairperson’s Advisory Council member Ismail Jabiullah, former secretary Abu Mohammad Moniruzzaman and former Supreme Court Bar Association general secretary Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kajol are the other members of the BNP delegation.

Earlier on Thursday and Sunday, the BNP participated in discussions with the Commission and shared their views on the proposals put forward by the five reform commissions formed by the interim government.

Talking to journalists, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said over the past two days, they had held discussions with the Commission on a range of issues, including the republic, the principles of state governance, fundamental rights, reforms to the legal system, the judiciary, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the National Constitutional Council (NCC), the electoral system, the executive branch, and constitutional reforms.

He said the discussions would resume today from where they left off on Sunday.

The BNP leader hoped that the discussions would be completed today.

The National Consensus Commission began its dialogue process with political parties on March 20, aiming to build a shared position on key reform proposals initiated by the interim government.

So far, it has held talks with 13 political parties.

Formed on February 15, 2025, under the leadership of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, the Commission is tasked with shaping a unified national stance on critical reforms. In its initial phase, it compiled key recommendations from five reform commissions — addressing constitutional, public administration, electoral, judicial, and anti-corruption reforms — and shared them with 39 political parties for feedback.

To date, 34 parties have responded.

The Commission aims to complete its first round of talks with political parties by the first week of May, begin a second round in the second week of May, and reach a national consensus by mid-July, reports UNB.