Cumilla-4 MP Hasnat Abdullah and Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni engaged in a heated exchange in parliament on Sunday over the arrest of activist and content creator AM Hasan Nasim for sharing a cartoon.
Expressing anger during a discussion on an urgent public notice, Hasnat Abdullah said, “We could never have imagined that, after the mass uprising, someone would be arrested for sharing a cartoon.”
He recalled that the Chief Whip had satirically told parliament that whale and shark were on the food list, and Nasim was arrested for sharing a cartoon about that.
“We saw during Hasina’s era that people were arrested for making sarcastic remarks. Now the same is happening again,” he said, adding that a staff member of the Chief Whip filed the case under Section 25, which deals with sexual assault. “Where is the sexual assault in the cartoon?”
The opposition MP also criticised the adjournment of the question-answer session in parliament, saying it prevents ministerial accountability.
In response, Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said, “If someone has been arrested only for drawing a cartoon of me, then I am requesting through the Speaker to have him released.”
However, he expressed suspicion about the arrested person’s other activities, saying it needs to be thoroughly examined whether he is involved in other cybercrimes or money laundering.
“If he has only drawn a political cartoon, then I have no complaint. But if there is evidence of any other crime, the law will take its own course,” the Chief Whip said.
Deputy Speaker Kaiser Kamal, who was in the Speaker’s chair, noted that a two-hour notice is required to raise a question of privilege under the Rules of Procedure, but assured that the matter would be taken seriously.
