Parliament on Monday annulled three significant ordinances related to the establishment of the Supreme Court secretariat, the appointment of Supreme Court judges, and the National Human Rights Commission.
The move sparked significant debate in the House, particularly among opposition members, who had previously expressed objections within the parliamentary committee.
During the session, opposition members raised concerns when the Supreme Court-related bills were brought forward for discussion.
Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman earlier in the day proposed the bills for annulment.
Among the 133 ordinances issued by the interim government, the special parliamentary committee recommended that 98 be passed in their original form, while 15 were to be passed with modifications. It also recommended the annulment of four ordinances, while proposing that 16 others be strengthened and reintroduced as new bills.
The Land Use Control and Agricultural Land Protection Bill-2026 was also introduced in the parliament. However, a key provision of the bill – prohibiting tobacco cultivation on multi-crop farmland – was excluded. The Speaker did not announce any decision on this matter during the session.
The interim government had issued the Land Use Control and Agricultural Land Protection Ordinance on 19 January 2026, which included a clause banning tobacco cultivation on three-crop farmland.
The parliamentary special committee had recommended the amendment of Section 7(5) of this ordinance. The provision had aimed to restrict tobacco farming on food security-sensitive land, as well as to phase out tobacco cultivation on one- and two-crop lands. However, this clause has been removed in the bill currently before the parliament.
Bills passed on Monday
The law minister tabled several key bills on Monday including the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, the Boundary Delimitation of Parliamentary Constituencies (Amendment) Bill, the Election Commission Secretariat (Amendment) Bill, the Election Officers (Special Provisions) (Amendment) Bill, the Voter List (Amendment) Bill, the National Parliament Secretariat (Interim Special Provisions) Repeal Bill, and the Bangladesh Law Officers (Amendment) Bill.
As no amendments were proposed, the Speaker presented these bills for a direct vote. They were approved through a voice vote.
The bills were passed in the same form as recommended by the special committee, which had suggested that the ordinances be approved as they were initially presented.
During the discussion on the Voter List (Amendment) Bill, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Saiful Alam Khan raised a point of order, stating that MPs should have received copies of the bills three days in advance.
He claimed that they had only received a 49-page document shortly before the debate, which made it difficult for them to discuss the contents.
In response, the Speaker acknowledged that, according to parliamentary procedures, the bills should have been distributed three days earlier but noted that the Speaker also holds special powers in such matters.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam later explained that all 133 ordinances must be passed by 9 April, and as decided in the Advisory Committee meeting, sessions would be held twice daily, from morning to evening, starting Tuesday. If necessary, additional sessions would be scheduled on Fridays. He expressed regret that, due to time constraints, copies of all the bills could not be provided in advance.
He added, “Let’s pass the bills that had unanimous approval in the special committee. For those with dissenting notes or amendments, we will make every effort to present them separately before 9 April.”
After the scheduled discussion on the bills, a general debate was held on the President’s address. Four BNP MPs and two Jamaat members took part in the debate.
Following the discussion, Deputy Speaker Kaysar Kamal adjourned the parliamentary session, which is now set to reconvene at 10:30am on Tuesday.
