The leader of Egypt's constitution-drafting panel has denied the document was amended after the final draft was agreed, state news agency MENA reported on Wednesday.

In a meeting with students at the Faculty of Political Science at Cairo University, Amr Moussa urged Egyptians  to ignore the campaign of “defamation” against the charter which must be passed to save Egypt from “drowning.”

"Not a single word in the draft was changed without consensus among panel members," Moussa said.

Two members of the panel have claimed the text was changed after the committee had approved the final draft, implying behind-the-scenes "deep state" involvement.

In an interview with Al-Tahrir private TV channel on Monday, Mohamed Abul-Ghar, head of the liberal Egyptian Social Democratic Party, said the committee had voted on a final draft containing the word "civilian rule" in the preamble, while the version submitted to the interim president used the phrase "civilian government."

The Catholic Church's representative on the committee, Bishop Antonious, gave an account similar to Abul-Ghar.

The term "civilian state" was a source of controversy during the drafting process. The term "civilian" is used to mean both non-religious and non-military.

The last-minute change is viewed by some as a way to placate the Salafist Nour Party, the only Islamist group on the panel, and ensure the ultra-conservative Islamists will lobby for a yes vote.

Nour representatives had been angered by the removal of an article that had opened the door for subjective and strict interpretations of Islamic law.

The article in question was introduced in the 2012 Islamist-backed constitution. It was widely criticised for granting a bigger role to Islamic clerics, and for giving vast powers to the president and the military.

"We are sure there was an agreement with a small group of people, including Amr Moussa, without informing the other committee members, to encourage the Salafists to vote yes in the referendum," Abul-Ghar said.

The referendum will take place on 14 and 15 January.