National Consensus Commission Vice-Chairman Professor Ali Riaz today hoped that the National Charter would realize the people's aspirations for state reform.
He expressed this optimism at the beginning of the commission's discussion with National Democratic Movement (Bangladesh)-NDM at the LD Hall of the Parliament Building here, said a press release issued by the National Consensus Commission (NCC).
"We may sit on opposite sides of the table in discussions with political parties, but we are not opposite to one another. We are one side and have a common goal - to find a clear path toward state reform and to create a national charter," he added.
At the outset, Prof Riaz acknowledged that there are some minor differences in their approaches, but emphasized that these can be resolved through dialogue. "We can move forward and reinforce the unity based on the aspects that enabled us to defeat a fascist regime," he said.
Safar Raj Hossain, Dr Iftekharuzzaman and Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor Monir Haider were present.
The eight-member delegation led by NDM-Bangladesh founder and Chairman Bobby Hajjaj also included the party's Secretary General Mominul Amin, Vice-Chairman Faruk Uz Zaman Chowdhury, Joint Secretary General Syed Jahangir Alam, and Organizing Secretary Barrister Shahidul Azam, among others.
The reform commissions formed in the first phase - the Constitutional Reform Commission, Public Administration Reform Commission, Electoral Reform Commission, Judiciary Reform Commission and Anti-Corruption Commission have placed their recommendations.
The important recommendations of them have been sent to 39 political parties in the form of spreadsheets requesting them to provide specific opinions on those.
So far, the National Consensus Commission has received opinions from 34 parties on the reform and the commission has held discussions with nine political parties in this regard.
The Consensus Commission is scheduled to hold discussions with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on 17 April.
