Former government adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan has criticized the new parliament’s start, saying it defied the people’s referendum verdict. In a verified Facebook post on Tuesday, he remarked that the parliament began its journey by disregarding the public mandate expressed through the recent referendum.

According to the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, a Constitutional Reform Council was to be formed with members elected in the 13th National Parliament. Elected representatives were expected to take oaths first as MPs and then as council members. However, 209 BNP lawmakers took oath only as MPs, refusing to be sworn in as members of the reform council. Related sources said this refusal has already disrupted the interim government’s reform initiatives and could lead to a new political crisis.

BNP maintains that the current constitution contains no provision for a Constitutional Reform Council or a separate oath for its members, and that the Chief Election Commissioner has no authority to administer such an oath.