DHAKA: The planned constitutional changeover canceling the 5th amendment and taking the country back to the 1972 constitution will take place without scrapping ‘Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim’.

Prime Minister and Awami League president Sheikh Hasina Thursday gave the decision in a scheduled parliamentary party meeting at the House, amid raging contentious over the matter.

Addressing the meeting, she also said religion-based politics would not be banned.

She said if the opposition BNP wishes, they may propose name of its member for the all-party parliamentary special committee which was formed for constitutional amendment. “They did not propose names of their members for the parliamentary standing committee at the beginning, but later they came forward,” she said.

Meeting sources said, Hasina herself delivered her speech in favour of keeping ‘Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim’ in the preamble of the Constitution. “We always begin our conversation with Bismillah or with the name of Almighty Allah. So, let Bismillah be there,” she said.

“We will not do anything that may clash with the Constitution of 1972,” she added.

The meeting also discussed religion-based political parties. The Prime Minister referred to the rules of the Election Commission regarding the religion-based political parties.

“The Election Commission has registered religion-based parties by framing law. If Jamaat-e-Islami accepts those rules and do politics, they may do so,” she said.

She asked the party lawmakers to improve contacts with the people of their constituencies and monitor if there are any irregularities taking place in the development activities.

BDST 2310 HRS, JULY 22, 2010.