Oli slates JS special committee
Oli Ahmed, president of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), yesterday came down heavily on the process of formation of the parliamentary special committee for constitutional amendment, terming it a ruling party-led grand alliance committee.
“It [JS special committee] is not an all-party parliamentary special committee, rather it is an Awami League-led 14-party grand alliance committee,” Oli Ahmed, also a lawmaker, said while talking to the journalists in his office at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
Besides, the terms of reference of the committee are not clear, he said.
The House on July 22 passed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's proposal to form a special committee to amend the constitution led by Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury.
“Prime minister should place the terms of reference in the House. But she declared the committee keeping parliament in the dark about the terms of reference,” Oli, also chief of the parliamentary standing committee on planning ministry, said.
“I am the lone opposition member who was joining parliament session [prorogued on July 22]. They [ruling AL-led government] communicated with the opposition BNP. But it was unfortunate that they did not contact me while forming the committee,” he added.
Asked why he was not included in the committee, Oli Ahmed, who left BNP in 2006 and formed LDP, said the government would be better able to say why.
On the government's move to amend the constitution, he said, time is yet to come to comment on this matter.
The LDP chief, however, opined that the caretaker government system should be improved. But he did not elaborate.
He also supported government's move to bring changes in Article 70 of the constitution that has kept MPs "prisoners" of their own party, preventing them from playing due role in parliament freely.
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