Jamaat-e-Islami MPs left the chamber in protest against the exclusion of opposition MPs from chairmanships of the standing committees in the 13th Parliament.
At around 9:10 pm, Jamaat lawmakers led by deputy leader of the opposition Syed Abdullah Mohammed Taher left the chamber, minutes after 10 new standing committees were formed. All the committee chairmen were from BNP.
According to the Rules of Procedure, all parliamentary standing committees must be formed within the third session of a parliament. There are 50 standing committees in total, including 39 related to different ministries. With the formation of 10 new committees, a total 25 standing committees have been formed in the 13th Parliament, including 19 ministry-related ones.
Only Taher has been appointed chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. No one from the opposition bench were made chairman of standing committees related to ministries.
After the formation of the standing committees, Taher rose on a point of order. He said the opposition was “losing interest” in staying in the House because of the behaviour of the treasury bench.
He said earlier the opposition had spoken about the formation of committees, but Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni did not place that proposal again.
“We held meetings with the government side. In those meetings, it was agreed that the opposition would receive 26 percent share according to the number of members of parliament. The government maintained this in terms of membership. We expect, as our right, that we will also receive 26 percent of the chairmanships. “That is only natural. Because there is no mention in the rules of procedure or in the privilege books about how many chairmen will come from which party or in what ratio.
“It depends on mutual understanding. At one point, the government side even said we would be given 10 chairmanships and collected a list from us. We submitted that list accordingly,” Taher said.
“I feel the government, because of its two-thirds majority, is becoming somewhat reckless,” he alleged.
“It is very indecent when the government says: if you join this committee, then we will give you this. We are not children to be lured with lollipops. You cannot deal with us one way in one place and another way elsewhere.
“We are asking for chairmanships. This is our right. The government is ignoring this right,” Taher said.
He said the treasury bench cannot decide that 100 percent of the chairmanships will go to them.
“Where is that written? Is it in the Constitution? Then the will of the majority party has become the law, the decision of parliament. That is dictatorship. Dictatorship means whatever I want, that is the law, that is my behavior,” he added.
He said the government, in the interest of the country and democracy, should respect the anti-discrimination movement and not create discrimination inside or outside parliament.
Taher also warned that if the next committees were formed in the same manner, they would not remain inside the chamber.
After his comments, the home minister took the floor. At about 9:10pm, while Salahuddin was delivering his speech, Jamaat members left the chamber. However, at least two opposition MPs -- NCP MP Hasnat Abdullah and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish MP Sayed Uddin Ahmad Hanzala -- stayed in the House. Later Hanzala left the house after a few minutes.
Contacted Najibur Rahman, spokesperson of the Jamaat parliamentary committee, said that they did not walk out of the House, rather they left the House.
While the Jamaat men were leaving the house, Salahuddin said the Deputy Leader of the Opposition had spoken, but he said he did not want to hear any reply at that moment.
“It is perhaps not a walkout, yet in effect it was a walkout,” Salahuddin said.
Salahuddin said opposition members cannot be given chairmanships in proportion to their seats -- there is no such provision, nor any obligation. History also shows no precedent.
“There was no formal discussion about giving the opposition 10 chairmanships,” Salahuddin said, referring to Taher’s comment of having a meeting between treasury bench and opposition regarding formation of standing committees.
On the opposition’s allegation of dictatorship, the home minister said: “In the 2001 parliament, Begum Khaleda Zia held a two-thirds majority. Yet the BNP did not abolish the caretaker government system. Whenever the BNP had a two-thirds majority and formed government, they strengthened democratic practices.”
The July National Charter has a provision that opposition members would chair committees proportionate to their seats, Salahuddin said, adding, “We remain committed to that pledge. But once the July Charter is implemented and the Constitution amended, then.”
