Two top leaders of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) have termed the rejection of the referendum mandate as political deception. In a joint statement on Wednesday, July 15, JSD President A S M Abdur Rob and General Secretary Shahid Uddin Mahmud Swapan made the remark following the formation of a constitutional amendment committee in the National Parliament.

The statement said that, in light of the July uprising, the people’s sovereign aspirations, and the national charter and referendum, fundamental reform of Bangladesh’s state system has become an inevitable demand. The leaders criticized the government for forming a parliamentary committee for so-called amendments instead of implementing the people’s mandate for a constitutional reform council. They argued that the constitution is a document of the people’s sovereign consent, not of any government or parliamentary majority, and that ignoring the direct mandate undermines the people’s sovereign decision.

The JSD demanded the immediate formation of a representative constitutional reform council to implement the referendum-approved mandate and warned that the government would bear responsibility for any future political, constitutional, or legal crises arising from ignoring the people’s verdict.