High Court observations on interim government unwarranted, says Liberation War affairs minister

Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq has criticised a High Court observation on interim government, dubbing it ‘uncalled for’.

The Gazipur-1 MP was speaking at a discussion and special prayers programme organised to mark National Mourning Day in the city on Friday.

Huq said: “The judges said the elected government will run the country for four years and the opposition party will be in charge in the fifth year.

“The trial was on whether the uncontested election in 153 constituencies was legal or not. They (judges) voluntarily discussed some issues after declaring the election legal.”

Altogether 153 candidates from the ruling Awami League and the Jatiya Party won uncontested from their constituencies in the last general elections boycotted by the BNP.

The bench of justices Mirza Hussain Haider and Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar threw out two pleas filed in this regard on Jun 19 last year.

The Supreme Court published the full verdict last week.

In its observation, the court proposed two ‘alternatives’ for forming the election-time government for the next two national polls.

The first one says a new 50-member interim Cabinet led by the incumbent prime minister comprising members from all parties with representation in Parliament can be formed.

It can take charge 90 days before the completion of the government’s five-year term.

In the alternative suggestion, the court says the party with majority will be in power for four years and the main opposition in Parliament will be in charge of the last year.

But to do so, the main opposition party needs to win at least half the votes garnered by the majority party.

The court says the Constitution needs to be amended for this.

Minister Huq said, “We hope the judiciary will be conscious about the matter and refrain from attempts to create confusion among the people with such trials and verdicts in a manner uncalled for.”

At a separate programme, Awami League Advisory Council Member Suranjit Sengupta said the High Court had ‘no scope’ to make observations on the issue.