BNP wary of constitutional vacuum

The BNP appears to be apprehensive about the sudden controversy over the resignation letter of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The party, which had been on the receiving end of severe persecution by the Awami League during its 15-year rule, is keeping a close watch on the developments surrounding the issue that has arisen two and a half months after the interim government took over.
“We are worried that the interim government might find itself in a precarious situation, potentially allowing a third party to take advantage,” said a senior leader of the BNP, wishing not to be named.
The controversy arose after Manab Zamin’s Editor-in-Chief Matiur Rahman Chowdhury met President Mohammed Shahabuddin, and the daily’s political magazine Janatar Chokh on Sunday ran their conversation where the president claimed he did not have a copy of the prime minister’s resignation.
This claim runs contrary to what the president had said in his address to the nation after the fall of Awami League government in the face of a mass uprising. In his August 5 speech, he said the prime minister had tendered her resignation.
BNP senior leaders said they suspect a move is afoot to remove the president and it may create a constitutional vacuum.
The party believes any constitutional crisis regarding the issue should be avoided at this moment, the senior leaders said.
The senior BNP leaders held a virtual meeting on Tuesday night and decided to make the party’s position clear to the interim government.
Accordingly, a three-member delegation went to meet the chief adviser yesterday. There, the BNP spoke of its stance on the issue of calling for the president’s resignation, said party sources.
At the party forum on Tuesday, BNP leaders discussed elaborately how things unfolded in the last few days.
They said the question over the former PM’s resignation letter; then the demand for the president’s resignation, and laying siege to the Bangabhaban are suspicious and there may be a conspiracy behind these.
Three senior leaders wishing not to be named told The Daily Star that they wonder whether this sudden move is an attempt to extend the term of the interim government.
They said the country’s constitution was not suspended after the change of government following the uprising. The president administered oath to the members of the interim government. So, they argued, there is no question of going beyond the constitution now.
They said they are trying to figure out why the president claimed he did not have the resignation letter of Hasina.
“Almost all the senior leaders agree that removing the president won’t be the right thing to do now,” one of the standing committee members said.
After yesterday’s meeting, Nazrul Islam Khan, a member of the BNP standing committee, said his party’s delegation had urged the government to make sure that it does not give rise to a constitutional vacuum or crisis.
Salahuddin Ahmed, another standing committee member, said the president’s is a constitutional post, and a sudden resignation will lead to a  crisis.