Speaker dispels opposition's fear

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury believes the opportunity for dialogue on how to hold the next parliamentary polls is still there, even though the opposition withdrew a formal proposal for talks last week.
The Speaker said this at a discussion on “Gender mainstreaming in Bangladesh parliament” at a hotel in the capital yesterday.
BNP lawmaker Mahbubuddin Khokon on May 22 tabled an adjournment motion in parliament to discuss the restoration of the caretaker government system.
He withdrew the proposal on Monday, the BNP parliamentary party said on the same day.
The parliamentary party observed that they would no longer put forward any proposal on the outline of the non-party government system.
“We will not even bring up this issue in parliament. It is the government who should take measures to restore the caretaker government system,” BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed said on Monday.
On that day, the opposition MPs returned to the House after a boycott of 83 days.  They have walked out of parliament three times since.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday said the BNP did not want any discussion, which was why it had withdrawn the proposal.
On the latest allegation that the Speaker prevented the opposition lawmakers from speaking in parliament, Shirin told them they would not face any obstacle or discrimination in the House.
However, the scope to discuss other issues during the budget discussion is limited, she told journalists after the programme.
“There will be a few sittings after the budget is passed. The opposition MPs will be able to take the time to discuss. The necessary atmosphere will be ensured so that they can speak in the House.”
Meanwhile, the budget session of parliament resumes today after a break of two days, and the BNP-led opposition lawmakers are to return to the House, signalling a heated debate during the budget discussion.
After the finance minister placed the next fiscal budget on Thursday, the Speaker announced that the parliament session would remain adjourned until 3:00pm today.
The MPs of the BNP-led opposition who walked out of parliament on Wednesday skipped the budget session the following day.
“But we have decided to return to the House tomorrow [today],” said Abdul Momin Talukder, BNP lawmaker and chief of the parliamentary standing committee on the environment and forest ministry. “We will also participate in the budget discussion.”