Sangsad stuck in seat row

The BNP-led opposition lawmakers yesterday decided to continue the boycott of parliament till the House reverts to the previous seating arrangements.
The same day Speaker Abdul Hamid rejected the call for reversion, which indicates the stand-off over the issue will draw out further.
Opposition Chief Whip Joynal Abedin Faruk said, "We'll consider returning to the House only if the speaker assures us of restoring the seat plans that were in place on the inaugural day of ninth parliament."
He was talking to reporters after a meeting at leader of the opposition's conference room in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban at around 6:45pm.
"We'll keep staying off the proceedings till the speaker makes a specific announcement that he would meet our demand," he said.
Contacted by journalists later, Speaker Hamid said it would not be possible for him to get back to the seat map laid out by his predecessor.
“If that is their demand now, the motive is pretty obvious," he said adding that earlier BNP had demanded three more seats in the front row on the left of the House chair's podium.
Asked if he would come up with any “specific announcement”, he said, "I've repeatedly requested them to join parliament. I've assured them I'll consider their demand for more front-row seats. What else do I need to do to be specific?"
The immediate past speaker, Jamiruddin Sircar, gave the opposition MPs all 10 front-row seats. All 12 seats in the next row too were allocated to the lawmakers from BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and Jatiya Party of Bangladesh (BJP).
In response to calls from the treasury bench, Hamid made some changes to the seat plans drawn up without taking into account the ruling alliance's proposals.
He set aside four seats in the first row for the opposition lawmakers including Oli Ahmed, the lone MP from Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He gave them as many seats in the second row.
In protest at the rearrangement, the lawmakers belonging to BNP and allies came out of the legislature.
"The speaker assured us Sunday that he would consider increasing the number of front-row seats for us, but he did not specifically say whether the seat map would be reverted," Faruq said at the press briefing.
The opposition chief whip said they had discussed the speaker's assurance with Chairperson Khaleda Zia and other senior leaders including Khandaker Delwar Hossain and Moudud Ahmed.
"We are not convinced by his assurance," Faruk said adding that they never said three more seats in the front row would do.
Speaker Abdul Hamid however maintains that the opposition demanded three more front-row seats, and in reply he assured them of one or two more seats in the leading row.
"I told them categorically I'll do something for them in the next session. If possible, I'll do it in the current session," he said yesterday.
Meanwhile, Faruk said he talked to Chief Whip of Parliament Abdus Shahid yesterday morning, but could not get any satisfactory response to their demand.
"He [Shahid] only echoed the speaker's views," he observed.