BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed on Thursday said no unconstitutional demand by any political party should be accepted at the cost of plunging the nation into crisis.

Speaking at a discussion marking the 15th founding anniversary of the Bangladesh Nationalist British Law Students Alliance at the Supreme Court Bar Association auditorium in Dhaka, Salahuddin stressed the need to uphold constitutional continuity.

Those who want to govern the state in line with law must realize that the nation cannot be pushed into crisis by accepting any non-political, illegal or unconstitutional demand of any party. We have to remain within constitutional continuity. The Chief Adviser has reiterated this many times. Only by safeguarding that continuity can we turn Bangladesh into a state under the rule of law, he said.

Salahuddin further noted that mere rhetoric on the rule of law is not enough, adding, “It has to be demonstrated in practice. We have proposed that no individual should serve as Prime Minister for more than 10 years in their lifetime. This will close the door to personal or party-based authoritarianism. Establishing the rule of law is the only way to eradicate such tendencies, and lawyers are the true guardians of it. You must play that role.”

On the proportional representation (PR) system, the BNP leader warned that it could bring “permanent instability.”

From my experience, PR means permanent instability. Nepal is a prime example—sometimes it takes a year or more to form a government, and even then it doesn’t last long, he observed.

He alleged that the move to introduce PR in Bangladesh was driven by political motives. The purpose here is to secure a few extra seats and create lasting instability in the country. This will only benefit those who always try to exploit instability for their own gains. Some of our neighboring countries, who do not want Bangladesh’s political stability and economic prosperity, will also take advantage of a weak government in such a situation to extract concessions.

The event was chaired by Wasi Parvez Tahsin, convener of the alliance. BNP International Affairs Secretary Nasir Uddin Asim, Supreme Court lawyers Ruhul Quddus Kajol and Ragib Rauf Chowdhury also spoke on the occasion.