The crucial 19th session of the Ninth Parliament will begin at 5 pm on Thursday amid speculations that it may be the last session of the current Parliament.
The main Opposition BNP is yet to decide whether it would attend the session. BNP chief whip Joynal Abedin Faruk told The Independent that the party would finalise its decision on Thursday.
Earlier, some BNP leaders said that if the government did not move any bill in the House for restoration of the caretaker government system, they would not join the session. The Opposition has long been pressing the government to pass a Bill to amend the Constitution to restore the CG system, which was scrapped by the present government through the 15th Amendment. So far, the government has remained unmoved to the Opposition’s demand.
Senior leaders of the ruling party have made it clear that they would not budge an inch from the present Constitution.
The coming session of Parliament is expected to be closely watched by people from all walks of life, who are apparently peeved with the current political impasse over the issue of a poll-time administration.
According to the Constitution, the election should be held within 90 days before January 25, the last day of the present government’s tenure. Parliament will remain in place during these 90 days, though there will be no sitting of the House.
Parliament secretariat sources said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had instructed them to run the session for five to six working days, but the session might be delayed by adjourning the session. Or another session might be summoned, if necessary.
A meeting of the Parliamentary Business Committee will be held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban at 4 pm, with the Speaker in the Chair to finalise the agenda and working days of the session.
Opposition leaders said they would not place any Bill on restoration of the CG provision since the ruling party could reject such a Bill by voice vote. Opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque told reporters that the Opposition would not place any Bill over restoration of the CG system. “The ruling party has to place a Bill for restoration of CG as they are in the majority in the House, “ he added.
Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury told reporters that the two major political parties must decide the poll-time management to supervise the next general election. She, however, said that she would take measures if political parties agreed to discuss the matter in the House.
Law section sources said a new Bill might be placed before the House during the session. They also said that 16 Bills, which were pending with different parliamentary standing committees, might be considered during the session.
The Bills include the Bank Company (Amendment) Bill-2010, Financial Institution (Amendment) Bill-2010, Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Bill 2011, The Forests (Amendment) Bill-2012, Tree Conservation Bill-2012, Islamic University Bill-2013, Birth and Death Registration (Amendment) Bill-2013, Bangla Academy Bill-2013, Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission (Amendment) Bill-2013, Village Court (Amendment) Bill-2013 and the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University Bangladesh
Bill-2013.
The previous session, participated by opposition BNP, was prorogued on July 14.
-With The Independent input
