DHAKA, Aug 31, 2024 (BSS) - Distinguished professor of politics and government department at Illinois State University, USA Dr Ali Riaz today said banning a political party can never bring a sustainable solution as banned party somehow manage to reemerge by any means.

"If a party is banned, it will definitely reemerge someday. Several attempts were made and conspiracies hatched so far to ban different parties using the state apparatus but it did not work", said Ali Riaz responding to a question on banning the Awami League (AL).

He said the constitution needs to be rewritten even through constitutional assembly if the democratic institutions are to be fixed as "constitutional dictatorship" has been established, resulting in unprecedented power being concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister.

 Riaz made the remarks during a question-and-answer session following his keynote speech at a discussion titled 'Post-mass upsurge Bangladesh: Amendment or Rewriting the constitution' organised by Speak Bangladesh at RC Majumder auditorium of Dhaka University campus.

Ali Reaz said, "Political parties should be dealt politically through ideology. You have to fight...You should not use the state apparatus to ban any party to get rid of it easily without fighting".

Awami league is the only political party who establish one party state system going against the spirit of liberation War", he said, adding, "Founding BAKSAL (Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League) just after three and half years of independence by AL is clearly a betrayal with the Liberation War spirit".

Denying AL's leadership in the war of liberation, Ali Riaz said, "I think the liberation war was a war of mass people which was led by the freedom fighters that were on the frontline with arms not Awami League".

Criticizing the absence of freedom fighters in AL's leadership, Ali Riaz said, "No bonafide freedom fighters have been seen in AL's top positions-president, general secretary or organizing secretary in the last 52 years".

Regarding to the constitution, Ali Riaz said the constitution needs to be rewritten as the situation created by the constitution cannot be resolved through amendments. "Even if a party wins all 300 seats in an election, they will not be able to change this Constitution," he said.
"We are talking about the rewriting of the constitution as there is no scope for the amendment of the constitution. The scope of amendment of the constitution is limited as one third of the constitution is written in such a way that there is no scope to change that", he added.
 
If these ways of centralised power are not stopped constitutionally, the appearance of another dictator cannot be prevented in the future, said Ali Riaz.