Bad-mouthing in Sangsad hits new low

In a tit-for-tat, an Awami League lawmaker yesterday opened a blistering attack on BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia using indecent words in parliament, a day after a BNP MP made a similar attack on the government.
In her offensive, ruling AL lawmaker Apu Ukil made extremely derogatory remarks about Khaleda's birth and marriage and also about her late parents' identity and their marriage.
The Daily Star has withheld her descriptions from the readers as they are unprintable.
Sangsad TV, however, aired the House proceedings live. Khaleda was not present in the House at the time.
Speaking on the proposed budget, the reserved seat lawmaker did not spare even late president Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda's husband.
The House rules of procedure prohibit anyone speaking against individuals not present in parliament.
In protest against Apu's remarks, the opposition MPs walked out of parliament at 9:00pm and did not return to the House.
On Wednesday, BNP lawmaker Shammi Akther made a blistering attack on the ruling party lawmakers using some offensive words, less than an hour after the Awami League and BNP lawmakers agreed not to use swear words in parliament.
Within three minutes of her speech on the budget, Apu yesterday told the House it was important for her to reply to the opposition lawmakers' "propaganda" against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and his wife.
“Sajeeb means fresh, Wazed is his noted father's name and Joy is the symbol of our victory in 1971. His wife is a renowned jurist who comes from a respected family,” said Apu, who used to be a professor of Tejgaon College in the capital.
Deputy Speaker Col (retd) Shawkat Ali, who was presiding over the sitting at the time, requested Apu twice to speak on the budget.
But ignoring the request, Apu continued her attack and said Khaleda Zia's family came to Dinajpur in 1956 from India and took shelter with a farmer's family there.