The opposition party walked out of the National Parliament session on Wednesday after failing to secure a remedy regarding their notice demanding discussion on the ‘Referendum and July Charter Implementation Order’ issue.
Opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman announced the walkout during an unscheduled discussion on the floor after the question-and-answer session, the sixth day of the first session of the 13th National Parliament.
Addressing the Law Minister, the opposition leader said his earlier remarks had not been properly considered and alleged that a question raised the previous day went beyond what he had originally stated.
“The agenda we raised was primarily about the referendum and the proposed constitutional reform. Regarding the council that was supposed to be formed in light of this, it was about convening that council’s meeting. That was the main subject of the notice,” he said.
The opposition leader noted that the Home Minister had made a proposal, and in response, he had said that if a committee or special committee were formed around the reform council, they would consider it positively.
“We believe it will become a meaningful committee if equal numbers of members are taken from the government side and the opposition side. Since we are here to resolve the crisis, not to create one,” he said.
Claiming that the issue concerned the verdict of nearly 70 percent of the people, he said he had expected a remedy from the Speaker and called for a decision.
In response, the Speaker said the previous day’s proposal was an adjournment motion that had been adopted in his absence. He noted that in Bangladesh’s 53-year parliamentary history, only three adjournment motions had been adopted.
“You know that an adjournment motion cannot be brought on an issue whose solution can only be achieved through legislation. Still, it was accepted generously to give the opposition an opportunity to speak,” the Speaker said.
He informed the House that another adjournment motion notice would be considered later, assuring the opposition of ample opportunity to speak.
The Speaker urged the opposition leader to wait and listen to the subject matter of the second notice before deciding to walk out.
However, the opposition leader insisted that the second notice had been brought forward to suppress the main notice and that in protest against both, they were walking out.
“We did not get a remedy. The reflection of the people’s verdict was not realized; it was not valued. Sitting in the opposition, we cannot accept this devaluation. Therefore, in protest, we are walking out,” he said.
The Speaker responded that according to parliamentary practice, they were free to walk out.
