There won't be any justice if 16th Amendment is passed: BNP

There will be no justice in Bangladesh if Parliament's power to impeach Supreme Court judges is restored, claims the BNP.

At a programme in Dhaka on Sunday, its spokerperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, "There is no representative of the people in Parliament. Of them, 154 have been elected without contest. The rest did not even get 5 percent votes."

"It will be a particular party's decision if the power to impeach judges is given to such a Parliament. There won't be any justice in the country if this happens."

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Law Minister Anisul Huq in the evening tabled the bill for a constitutional amendment to restore the legislative authority to impeach Supreme Court judges.

The government has already hinted that this bill would be passed in the current session.

"We don't approve of this bill,” BNP acting Secretary General Fakhrul said before claiming “the people too won't support this bill”.

The 1972 Constitution had such provisions, empowering Parliament to decide on the Supreme Court judges' tenure and impeach them.

But the Fourth Amendment in 1975 handed that authority to the president.

After military ruler Ziaur Rahman usurped state power, the Fourth Amendment was annulled and a Supreme Judicial Council was formed following an order to enforce the impeachment rule, which is still in effect.

The issue of reviving this authority came into focus after the Awami League took office in the last term.

In 2012, some MPs called for the removal of a High Court judge after a series of events around the remark of the then speaker and current President Md Abdul Hamid.

The matter was also discussed in 2011 when the 15th Amendment to the Constitution was underway, although the article was not restored.

Mirza Fakhrul on Sunday also criticised the government for withdrawing its candidature for the non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in support of Japan.

"Bangladesh has withdrawn its candidature against the Japanese prime minister's assurance to build a new economic zone and invest.

“But Bangladesh had won the Unite Nations Security Council membership competing with Japan during President Ziaur Rahman's era in 1978."

"Here is the difference between the Awami League and BNP," Fakhrul said.

He said, "Japan is our friend. We hope that Japan will keep its promises as a development partner."

Bangladesh and Japan were the two contenders for the non-permanent seat for 2016-2017. But only one will be elected from Asia-Pacific region.

This is the first time Bangladesh has withdrawn its candidature.