Speaker offers talks with opposition to settle dispute

Speaker Abdul Hamid will mediate talks between the chief whips to resolve the row over letters assigning the ruling Awami League lawmakers from women’s quota to oversee development activities in the opposition constituencies.

He came up with the proposal following a heated debate over the issue yesterday.

Chief whips of the treasury and opposition benches agreed to sit at the speaker’s office, but the date was yet to be set.

In September last year, chief whip Abdus Shahid issued letters to 36 AL MPs elected to women’s reserved seats, empowering them to administer development programmes in the constituencies belonging to opposition legislators.

Taking the floor on a point of order, Farroque yesterday read out a copy of the letter and questioned its legality.

He demanded that the letters be withdrawn immediately.

Senior BNP lawmaker Moudud Ahmed said by issuing the letters, the government has curtailed the opposition MPs’ rights to represent their constituencies.

“It’s unconstitutional. It breaches the privileges and rights of the opposition lawmakers,” he added.

Hamid, who was presiding the sitting, said he could not do any development activities in his constituency during the past BNP rule for interference from district minister.

The treasury bench chief whip however defended the letters issued on instructions from Prime Minister and AL President Sheikh Hasina.

He said deciding how the party’s women lawmakers will work rests with the party chief.

HAMID VS SIRCAR
Earlier, the speaker and his predecessor Jamir Uddin Sircar argued over allocation of time for lawmakers to speak on points of order.

Sircar, now a BNP lawmaker, said the opposition MPs are not given enough time to speak in the House.

He claimed as speaker of the eighth parliament, he allowed the opposition deputies much more time than what they are getting now.

In response, Hamid said, “Your claim is not true. You did not give opposition lawmakers much time. Awami League lawmaker Suranjit Sengupta, who was injured in the August 21 grenade attack, was not given the floor on a point of order even in the aftermath of the blasts.”

Sircar also said he had given the opposition lawmakers ample opportunity to visit abroad as parliamentary delegates.

“Follow the way I used to run the House,” he suggested the speaker.

Hamid recalled how he could not attend a conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) during Sircar’s tenure.

“I was invited as an executive committee member of the association. They even sent air tickets for me. But I decided not to go as you [Sircar] included my name in the parliamentary delegation on the opposition lawmakers’ quota.”

Sircar however said Hamid did attend the CPA meeting.

At that, the speaker challenged him, and asked BNP lawmaker MK Anwar to check the documents and inform the House about it.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net

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