National Citizen Party (NCP) Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain has accused the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of avoiding necessary reforms under the pretext of power politics. Speaking on Sunday, May 3, at a national convention on energy, economic reform, and referendum held at the Diploma Engineers Institute in Dhaka, he said the BNP prefers to enjoy absolute power rather than pursue reform.

Hossain stated that although the BNP repeatedly mentioned a 'note of dissent', the consensus commission had agreed that any differing opinions would be recorded separately, making dissent secondary. He added that after the referendum, BNP’s approval or disapproval was no longer a central issue. He questioned BNP’s objections to four specific referendum questions, which included proposals for a new upper house, a caretaker government under a new formula, and neutral boards for constitutional appointments.

He urged BNP not to disregard the people’s verdict from the referendum and emphasized that the proposed constitutional reforms aimed to strengthen the basic structure of governance. The session was moderated by Monira Sharmin, convener of the National Women’s Power.