Nazrul Islam
The election of the deputy speaker from the opposition, as offered by the ruling Awami League, is unlikely in the first sitting of the ninth parliament, going into its first session on January 25.
‘There might be two posts of deputy speakers in the parliament and making the provision to accommodate one from the opposition will require amendment to the constitution,’ the LGRD and cooperatives minister, Syed Ashraful Islam, also the Awami League spokesman, told New Age and two other media Monday.
Asked whether the election of the deputy speaker from the opposition will take place in the first sitting, he said, ‘Let us see who they [opposition] name.’
There will certainly be an announcement on the parliament floor once the ninth parliament begins its session, he said at his house at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, at her formal briefing on December 31 after the party’s landslide victory in the December 29 general elections, offered the post of deputy speaker and the chairmanship of the parliamentary standing committee proportionally to the opposition bench aimed at making the parliament effective.
The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party also accepted the offer.
But the parliament must elect a speaker and a deputy speaker from among the lawmakers in the first sitting after any general elections in line with the constitution.
As the ruling party contemplates for more posts of deputy speakers than one in parliament, the opposition will be given its share after the amendment to the constitution.
The Awami League, which polled three-fourths of the parliamentary seats, more than enough to bring about changes in the constitution, has initiated a discussion in the party forum on ways to accommodate the opposition in the parliament with the post of deputy speaker and chairmanships of parliamentary standing committees.
The opposition, however, is yet to name any of its lawmakers for the post of the second deputy speaker in the parliament.
Taking into account the first session, the parliament secretariat on Monday revised the working hours for its officials and employees. The parliament secretariat will usually remain open between 9:00am and 7:00pm during the session.
As the appointments of the chief whip and whips are yet to be published in official gazettes, the speaker’s office could not finalise the seating arrangement of the lawmakers in the house.
Asked about the arrangement, Awami League lawmaker Abdus Sahid, who was named for the chief whip of the parliament, said he was on seating arrangement in the house. ‘It will be finalised in consultation with the leader of the house, Sheikh Hasina.’
In keeping with proportionate distribution, three out of the 28 BNP lawmakers will get chance to sit in the front row.
There are 29 seats in the front row, where usually the leader of the house, leader of the opposition, deputy leader of the house and senior lawmakers sit.
The secretary to the parliament secretariat, Ashfaq Hamid, said he had received 19 questions mainly from the ruling party lawmakers for placement in the house on January 28. The prime minister will also answer questions on the day.
The secretariat drafted a tentative order of the day for the first sitting. It includes election of the speaker and the deputy speaker, nomination of a panel of chairmen, obituary reference, placement of the ordinances promulgated by the immediate-past military-controlled interim government and address by the president, Iajuddin Ahmed.
The session will go for a two-day recess after the first sitting.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
