Demanding discussion in the House on the issues, Awami League (AL) lawmakers have already submitted notices to the parliament secretariat and will continue to put pressure on the government in the House for holding discussions.

"Lawmakers of our party are submitting notices demanding discussions on different burning issues in the House. We will demand discussions on the issues adjourning other businesses of the House," Opposition Chief Whip Abdus Shahid told reporters yesterday.

Talking to reporters at a news briefing, AL lawmaker Mohammad Nasim said he has already submitted ten notices to the parliament secretariat demanding discussions on Kansat killings, police atrocities on journalists and opposition activists, and the present state of militant kingpins.

At the briefing AL lawmakers alleged they are not being able to discuss the irregularities and misrule of the government in parliamentary standing committees as those bodies have been ineffective.

"Law and order related issues could be discussed in the parliamentary standing committee on home ministry. But the chairman of the committee has not convened its due meetings fearing criticism from opposition lawmakers," alleged Mohammad Nasim, also a member of the parliamentary standing committee on home ministry.

Opposition Chief Whip Abdus Shahid said committees on other ministries also remained silent about irregularities and corruption in the ministries.

"As we can not talk for people's welfare in the parliamentary committees, we want to discuss the issues in the House," he said.

The session however is expected to be a very short one as Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar has earlier hinted that the session might have only four or five workdays.

The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) will sit prior to the beginning of the session to fix its duration.

Sources in AL said they are likely to join the meeting of BAC to raise their demand for discussions on various burning issues.

"We apprehend that the government will not allow any discussion. But we will raise our voices and protest misrule of the government using the floor on the issue of point of orders," a senior lawmaker of AL said.

The main opposition AL joined the parliament on February 12 ending a year long House boycott and submitted its proposals for reforms in the system of caretaker government, Election Commission and electoral laws. AL lawmakers are expected to raise the issue of reforms in the parliament as no significant progress was seen in the last two months.

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The parliamentary standing committee on home ministry held its last meeting on February 8. The chairman of the committee has not convened any meeting since then ignoring the rules of procedure, which say the committee will sit at least once a month.

Committee Chairman Prof Mohammad Shajahan Mia yesterday admitted that the meetings were not convened and said he could not convene the meetings as he was busy. "I will convene a meeting in a couple of days," Shajahan Mia told reporters.

Mohammad Nasim at the news briefing blasted the chairman for not convening the meetings regularly.

"I will seek interference by the speaker if the committee chairman does not convene a meeting immediately," he said. "I wanted to discuss the Kansat issue in the last meeting on February 8. But the committee chairman did not agree. Now it has been proven that the committee chairman, elected from Kansat, is responsible for the Kansat killings," Nasim alleged.

AL lawmaker AKM Jahangir Hossain who is a member of several parliamentary bodies also expressed his dissatisfaction over the ineffectiveness of the committee system.