Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has said it will decide through internal discussions whether to accept BNP’s proposal to take the post of deputy speaker ahead of the first session of parliament.

Maulana Abdul Halim, assistant secretary general and member of the party’s central executive council, told The Daily Star that the party would take a decision after deliberations.

Earlier today, following a meeting with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Cabinet Division of the Secretariat, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said that a proposal had been made to allocate the deputy speaker’s post in the 13th National Parliament to the main opposition party, Jamaat-e-Islami.

Salahuddin said the deputy speaker would be appointed from the opposition in honour of the understanding reached under the July National Charter. He added that the main opposition party, Jamaat-e-Islami, had been asked to finalise a name for the post.

Contacted in the evening, Abdul Halim said, “The BNP has yet to clarify its position on the legal foundation of the July Charter.”

In such a situation, he described the proposal from the BNP regarding the deputy speaker’s post as a “fragmented part” of the broader understanding under the July National Charter.

“It is not yet time to make any final remarks. The decision will be taken through party discussions,” he added.