Online Desk:
Professor Ali Riaz, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor, said that a bicameral legislature has been recommended to prevent individual dictatorship in the future.
He said that in the current state system of Bangladesh, power has repeatedly been vested in the hands of a single individual by taking advantage of the weakness of the institution. Therefore, it must be dealt with institutionally without relying on any individual.
Stating that this is why the establishment of an upper house in the parliament was mentioned in the July Charter, he said that if the upper house is established, on the one hand, the representation of the people and all parties will be ensured, and on the other hand, the opinions of all will be reflected in amending the constitution.
Professor Ali Riaz said these things as the chief guest at a view-exchange meeting organized at the Dr. Kaisar Rahman Chowdhury Auditorium of Rajshahi Medical College on Monday (January 12, 2026) to promote the referendum and motivate voters.
Presided over by Divisional Commissioner Dr. A. N. M. Bazlur Rashid, the meeting was attended as special guests by Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor (Unity) Monir Haider, Vice Chancellor of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology Professor Dr. SM Abdur Razzak, DIG of Rajshahi Range Police Mohammad Shahjahan and Rajshahi Police Commissioner Dr. Mohammad Zillur Rahman.
The meeting organized by the Rajshahi Divisional Administration was attended by the Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and officers and employees of other government departments at the district and upazila levels, local journalists and civil society.
Professor Ali Riaz said, “We wanted a state where equality, human dignity and justice for all people would be established. But even in the last 54 years, we have not been able to build that state. Our state institutions have been destroyed due to the greed for personal power in the party’s considerations.” Our youth have created an opportunity to get out of that situation through the mass uprising of 24. He said, it is my, yours, and all of us’s responsibility to ensure that fascism does not take advantage of the state system in the future.
Referring to the election that this referendum will lay our foundation, the chief coordinator of the government’s campaign activities for the upcoming referendum said, “If we want to see fundamental changes in the state system and give it a legal, institutional, and constitutional basis, then we will have to give a verdict through a referendum.”
The special guest of the meeting, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor (Unity), Monir Haider, said, “If the referendum fails, then next time you will have to give your child my life.” Warning that fascism has found its way, he said, “Next time fascism will return very soon.” This special assistant to the chief advisor said, “The July Charter and the people’s consent in the referendum are necessary to keep the future of your child safe.”
Assuring the officials present that there are no restrictions on campaigning for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote in the upcoming referendum, Special Assistant (Unity) Monir Haider said, there is no candidate in the referendum, the referendum is the agenda of all of us. He mentioned that the opinions of the country’s leading law and constitutional experts have also been taken in this regard.
The president of the event, Divisional Commissioner Dr. A. N. M. Bazlur Rashid, in his speech, highlighted the initiatives taken at the divisional, district and upazila levels to create awareness about the referendum and its progress. Stating that we are standing at a turning point, he called on all officials to properly discharge their assigned responsibilities.
