The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Thursday requested Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury to take necessary steps to free the detained opposition MPs– MK Anwar and Barkatullah Bulu so that they could take part in the forthcoming session of parliament. A five-member parliamentary delegation of BNP, led by opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farruque, made the request during a meeting with the Speaker at her office.
This was the opposition MPs’ maiden meeting with Dr Sharmin since she was sworn in as the country’s first female Speaker on April 30 this year.
The delegation also handed over a memorandum to the Speaker demanding the release of MK Anwar and Barkatullah Bulu before the budget session, beginning on June 3.
The Speaker assured them that she would take step in consultation with the authorities concerned.
She called upon the opposition lawmakers to join the forthcoming session.
The delegation’s other members were: Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anie, Abul Khair Bhuiyan, Nazim Uddin Alam and Rehana Akhter Ranu.
Talking to The Independent, the opposition chief whip said, the Speaker assured them that she would take steps to free the two BNP lawmakers after discussing it with the concerned authorities.
“We have informed the Speaker that the two lawmakers of the opposition BNP were detained in false cases and requested her to take initiative to free them before the session,” he said.
Asked whether they were going to join the forthcoming session or not, he said, BNP Parliamentary Party (BNPPP) would sit together within a couple of days to discuss about joining the next session.
-With The Independent input
