Constitutional amendment to scare judges: BNP

The government’s effort to introduce a new constitutional amendment is intended to keep judges 'in fear', alleges the BNP.

"Parliament is being given the power to impeach Supreme Court judges in a bid to control the court’s activities by keeping the judges in a state of fear," Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan told a press briefing on Tuesday.

If this becomes an act, the cabinet-led government's chief executive the prime minister will gain 'hundred percent power' to interfere in the affairs of the judiciary, he claimed.

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"And this will let the executives have total control over the appointment and removal of judges in the country’s courts."

The law minister placed the ‘Constitution (16th Amendment) Bill-2014’ in Parliament on Sunday seeking to restore Parliament’s authority to impeach a Supreme Court judge on grounds of misbehaviour or incapacity.

It was sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs for scrutiny.

The BNP, which boycotted the last national elections and is out of Parliament, has been opposing the government move from the outset.

Nazrul Islam Khan said people's chances of getting justice will vanish if Parliament's power to impeach judges is restored. "The judiciary won't be independent anymore."

He briefed the media at the BNP's Naya Paltan headquarters after a meeting of the 20-Party Alliance.

There, he announced that the BNP-led alliance will protest against the government's move to push through the amendment.

The alliance would hold rallies and take out processions on Wednesday in all the districts, while a protest rally has been scheduled on Thursday.

Khan said the Awami League-led government was strangulating all democratic institutions.

"We think the state's existence will be threatened if the administration establishes control over the judiciary."

The senior BNP leader alleged the government made the move in a bid to 'appoint their people' as judges and 'grab power for life' and get 'verdicts in their favour'.

Responding to a query, he said the government was amending the constitution, though there was no demand for it from any quarters. "It’s a part of their evil plan."