Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has stated that along with the reinstatement of the caretaker government system in the constitution, the provision of obtaining public approval to alter this system in the future will also be brought back.
He said that the provision of a referendum in Article 142 of the constitution had been canceled through the Fifteenth Amendment. As the court's verdict declared that decision of cancellation unconstitutional, the provision of a referendum will be re-incorporated into the amended constitution.
He made these remarks while briefing journalists on Tuesday (06 October) at the national parliament following a meeting of the special committee related to constitutional amendment with the representatives of the families of those killed in the July mass uprising and the 'July fighters'.
Salahuddin Ahmed said, 'The amendment that we are going to adopt next—in that case, changes, amendments, and additions to certain articles will come; prior to the president's signature on changes to those, a referendum system must be arranged. That is a constitutional referendum. The referendum that took place previously was a legal referendum. This constitutional referendum is our constitutional obligation.'
The minister said, 'The amendment that we are going to bring forward next—there will be changes in the preamble, fundamental principles of state policy, and other core issues. Articles 48 and 56 will feature the reasons why we are embracing the caretaker government system.'
He said, 'Where Article 142 did not have the referendum, Sheikh Hasina's fascist government had abolished it. We have to embrace it there once again.'
The Home Minister mentioned the intention to keep constitutional safeguards so that if the caretaker government system is re-incorporated into the constitution, no one can easily change it in the future.
He further stated, 'Moreover, the preamble, the fundamental principles of state policy, and other core issues for which changes would require a constitutional referendum—that is already there according to Article 142, and we will incorporate it. We are bringing the caretaker government system into the constitution in such a way that if anyone wants to change it in the future, the provision of a referendum will still remain in force, and they will have to go to the people—thus we will bring a robust constitutional amendment.'
Notably, the provision of a referendum was first incorporated into Article 142 in 1979 through the Fifth Amendment of the constitution. Later, in 2011, this provision was removed from the constitution through the Fifteenth Amendment brought by the Awami League government. Through the same amendment, the caretaker government system was also abolished from the constitution.
On July 9, 2026, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the High Court verdict declaring the core parts of the Fifteenth Amendment illegal. Consequently, the abolition of the caretaker government system and the referendum provision through the Fifteenth Amendment came into renewed constitutional discussion.
It is learned that after receiving the copy of the full verdict of the court, the Law Ministry will publish an amended version or a text of the constitution. That will include the reinstatement of the referendum provision in Article 142 and the provisions related to the caretaker government, which were removed through the Fifteenth Amendment.
