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Published : 17 Feb 2026, 01:18 PM
Senior BNP leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has said there is no scope for lawmakers to take oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council before the Constitution is amended.
The party's Standing Committee member made the remarks on Tuesday after being sworn in as a member of parliament. However, the party's subsequent refusal to take a separate oath linked to the council on July Charter reforms sparked a standoff with Jamaat-e-Islami, the main opposition in parliament, which threatened to boycott the oath-taking ceremony altogether before eventually relenting.
Speaking about the BNP's decision against being sworn into the reform council, Khosru said the process must follow constitutional provisions.
“It has to be done constitutionally. There is no chance to do that at this moment before the Constitution is amended. Parliament has to function constitutionally,” he said.
Asked about Jamaat's stance, Khosru described the matter as a personal decision for the Jamaat lawmakers but urged them to respect the public mandate.
“Whether they will take the oath or not is their personal matter. However, we believe that they should take the oath in parliament to respect the people’s decision,” he said.
The swearing-in ceremony for members of the 13th national parliament was scheduled to begin at 10:40am on Tuesday.
According to the July Charter Implementation Order and the referendum verdict, the newly elected MPs were also expected to take oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council after their parliamentary oath.
Lawmakers from the BNP, which secured a majority, appeared in the parliament’s oath-taking room as scheduled. But around 10:30am, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed announced that they would not take the Reform Council oath.
Holding up a form, he said none of the elected MPs had been chosen as reform council members under any constitutional provision.
“None of us have been elected as members of the Constitutional Reform Council and it has not yet been enshrined in the constitution,” he said.
“If the council is formed according to the referendum verdict, it must first be incorporated into the constitution, along with provisions specifying who will administer the oath.”
He added that the current Constitution contains no such format in its Third Schedule and that any oath for reform council members would require formal constitutional adoption by parliament.
Salahuddin said the decision not to take the oath was made following instructions from BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and stressed that the party would continue to adhere strictly to constitutional procedures.
Later, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath to BNP lawmakers as members of parliament.
The oath-taking ceremony for members of other parties and independents, including those from Jamaat-e-Islami, began at 12:22pm.
