DHAKA: The special committee for amending the Constitution would sit in its maiden meeting on July 29 at 11am in the cabinet room of the national parliament to get down to their task of high historical importance.

Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, also chairperson of the all-party constitutional amendment committee, announced the meeting schedule Thursday and made a request for the boycotting opposition BNP to join in the panel.   

“The opposition BNP has still scope for incorporating its nominee in the committee,” she said at a press conference at the media centre of parliament.

The senior ruling-party leader said the main motto of bringing the constitutional amendment is to stop usurpation of power, as the changes are being made in the light of the rescinding of the fifth amendment that had ratified acts of martial-law regimes.

“We will recommend the amendment to go back to the country’s original constitution for restoring people`s sovereignty, stopping illegal takeover of power and preserving the spirit of the liberation war,” Sajeda told the reporters about their action plan.

She also informed that Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed, who is a technocrat minister, has been invited to be present at the scheduled meeting.

Suranjit Sengupta, co-chairman of the committee, criticized the stance of BNP about the formation of the committee.

BNP earlier had rejected the formation of the committee terming it ‘unconstitutional’ as it did not follow rules of procedure of the parliament, he said.

Among other committee members, state minister for environment and forest Dr. Hasan Mahmud, Advocate Fazle Rabbi MP, Rashed Khan Menon MP and Hasanul Haque Inu MP also attended the briefing.  

The 15-member committee consists of only the ruling Awami League-led grand-alliance lawmakers, as BNP declined to nominate their representative following an invitation from the ruling party.

BDST: 1640 HRS, 22 JULY 2010