A debate erupted in parliament over the inclusion of Satkhira-4 lawmaker Gazi Nazrul Islam, who was expelled from Jamaat-e-Islami over allegations of moral misconduct, in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Government Assurances.
Following objections from the opposition, the committee was later reconstituted and his name was removed.
On Monday, Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni placed a proposal in parliament to form the committee on government assurances. The proposed 10-member committee was to be headed by Noakhali-1 lawmaker AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon as chairman. Opposition members Mahbubul Alam and Nurunnisa Siddiqui were included in the committee.
Gazi Nazrul Islam’s name was also proposed as a member, and the proposal was approved through a voice vote.
Later, Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman raised questions over Gazi Nazrul’s inclusion, asking whether he had been included in the committee from the opposition’s quota.
In response, the chief whip said there are currently 349 members in parliament and efforts are being made to include every lawmaker in at least one committee. He said Gazi Nazrul was included in the committee on government assurances as it was not possible to place him in any other committee. He added that he was not appointed as a member from the opposition quota.
At this stage, Deputy Speaker Kaisar Kamal said Gazi Nazrul had previously been a member of several standing committees. Although he was removed from those committees following requests from the opposition, his inclusion in another committee had raised questions.
The chief whip said that as long as Gazi Nazrul’s parliamentary membership remains valid, efforts will be made to include him in one committee or another. He said Gazi Nazrul does not belong to either the government or opposition benches and that care had been taken to ensure the interests of the opposition were not affected.
Taking part in the discussion, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said a lawmaker must be included in one committee or another. He said Gazi Nazrul was included because his parliamentary membership had not yet been cancelled. As his name was not on the opposition list, he was not included in any ministry-related standing committee, he added.
Regarding his expulsion from the party, the home minister said a lawmaker’s parliamentary seat does not become vacant simply because a political party expels him. Referring to voting against the party’s decision or abstaining from voting in the presidential election, he said the speaker or the Election Commission (EC) could be approached on the matter.
In reply, Shafiqur Rahman said Gazi Nazrul had been expelled from the party on moral grounds. He said it would have been ethically appropriate not to include him in any committee of a prestigious institution like parliament. He added that removing him from the committee, as there was an opportunity to reconstitute it, would set a moral precedent.
Finally, taking the opposition leader’s objection into consideration, the committee on government assurances was reconstituted and Gazi Nazrul Islam’s name was removed.
