The government has proposed to the parliamentary special committee reviewing 133 ordinances issued during the interim government’s tenure that the Referendum Ordinance should not be enacted into law, arguing that it originated from a presidential order issued beyond legal jurisdiction.

According to members of the committee, the law ministry’s proposal said that, given the lack of constitutional authority behind the original order, the ordinance cannot be validly passed or converted into legislation.

On the second day of the review, the committee reached agreement on 115 ordinances, while the remaining 18 will be discussed further on March 29, several members who attended the meeting told New Age.

At least four members of the committee said that, of the 115 ordinances on which consensus was reached, most are likely to be passed with amendments, while some may be allowed to lapse.

Some ordinances will lapse, as they involve non-contentious or inconsequential matters, and there was agreement to allow these to lapse. They include the Bangladesh Travel Agency (Registration) Ordinance, 2006, the National Parliament Secretariat Interim Special Provisions, and the Microfinance Bank Ordinance, 2026.

According to sources in the meeting, along with the Referendum Ordinance, the respective ministries also proposed that the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Ordinance, 2025, and three ordinances related to the National Human Rights Commission should not be enacted into law.

The relevant ministry expressed reservations about converting the Enforced Disappearance Ordinance into law, noting that enforced disappearance is a sensitive crime involving the potential accountability of state and law enforcement agencies.

Another ministry also raised concerns about three ordinances related to the National Human Rights Commission, arguing that they should not be enacted as they lack clarity on administrative oversight, including which ministry would be responsible for supervising the commission.

One of the BNP lawmakers on the committee told New Age that all the ordinances had been sent to the relevant ministries for feedback, and the committee was currently discussing their responses, but no decision had yet been made on the ordinances related to referendum, enforced disappearances, and the National Human Rights Commission.

After the meeting, the special committee chairman Zainul Abedin told reporters that there was not much discussion on the referendum issue at the meeting.

‘We will discuss it on March 29, or it will be discussed in parliament,’ he said.

When asked whether the ruling party had proposed scrapping the ordinance, he said that they had neither proposed repealing it nor retaining it.

He said that the issue must be discussed in light of the constitution, as it stands above all.

Zainul said that parliament would function in accordance with the constitution and that all matters, including the referendum issue, should be resolved through discussions.

After the meeting, the main opposition party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, claimed that the ruling party did not want to proceed with some ordinances, including the Referendum Ordinance, the Anti-Corruption Commission Ordinance, the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance, the Supreme Court Judges’ Appointment Ordinance, 2025, and the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance, 2025.

Opposition whip and Jamaat assistant secretary general Rafiqul Islam Khan said that the proposal had been brought forward to repeal the Referendum Bill, describing it as highly unfortunate.

He said there was no question of agreeing to it, as rejecting the referendum would undermine the spirit of the July uprising.

Rafiqul said that they had strongly opposed the move and that further discussions on the matter had been decided.

The 133 ordinances issued during the interim government must be converted into law by April 12. Otherwise, they would be null and void.

The ordinances have been sent to a special committee in parliament for scrutiny, with instructions to submit its report by April 2.

Home minister Salahuddin Ahmed said that the ordinances related to the Anti-Corruption Commission, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearances have been set aside for discussion in the next committee meeting.

He explained that the ordinances have been categorised into three groups.

The first group includes ordinances that can be passed as originally proposed or enacted, in which case the relevant ministries will reintroduce the bills for passage.

The second group includes ordinances that require additional amendments and will be passed with those changes.

The third group comprises ordinances on which no consensus has been reached, he said and added that these ones would lapse in the current session but could be reintroduced as bills in a subsequent session, if necessary.

Salahuddin said that the committee was giving the highest priority to the July National Charter and constitutional compliance during the review.

Law minister Md Asaduzzaman said that the special committee had taken no action beyond the July charter so far.

He described the charter as highly sensitive and honourable, saying that it specified constitutional amendments for certain proposals.

Of the 84 proposals in the charter, items 1 to 47 require constitutional amendments, while items 48 to 84 can be enacted as ordinances or laws through other means, the law minister said.

Responding to a question on the July Charter implementation order, which stated that a Constitutional Reform Council would be formed if the referendum results in a ‘yes’ vote, the law minister said that the implementation order was contrary to the July Charter.

One of the Jamaat lawmakers in the committee said that they also proposed for the cancellation of five specific ordinances, including the amended District Council Ordinance, the Upazila Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024, the Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024, and the Local Government (Municipality) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024.

Social welfare affairs state minister Farzana Sharmin said that all ordinances had been sent to the relevant ministries for feedback, and the parliamentary committee was currently reviewing their responses.