Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Sunday urged for the conduct of parliamentary proceedings in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and long-standing traditions, regarding a notice of public importance submitted by the opposition leader.
Salahuddin maintained that following these established norms provides no scope for the curtailment of anyone’s rights.
He made these remarks while speaking on a point of order during a session of the 13th Parliament on Sunday. Deputy Speaker Kaiser Kamal presided over the session, which was attended by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Addressing the House, the home minister noted that Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman had proposed a discussion. He recalled that the Speaker had previously requested the opposition leader to submit a notice as per the rules and had assured him of time for discussion accordingly.
Referring to the observations made by the Chief Whip, Salahuddin stated, “According to our tradition, such proposals or notices are raised after the Question Hour and proceedings under Rule 71.”
He told the deputy speaker that by reiterating this to the opposition leader, no rights had been violated.
Regarding the deputy speaker’s jurisdiction, Salahuddin highlighted that it is within the Chair’s authority to decide whether to allow matters raised under Rule 71 concerning urgent issues of public importance.
However, he acknowledged this as a right of the members of parliament. He added that if the opposition leader raises his notice later, the government side might also have observations to share by formulating points of order.
Urging the deputy speaker to follow the rules in managing the House, he said, “Please proceed according to the rules. I request you to follow the ‘Order of the Day’ as you intended, so that the rights of other members are also protected.”
Following this, the Deputy Speaker noted that points of order could be raised later and initiated the discussion on notices accepted under Rule 71.
Earlier, the 13th Parliament session resumed at 3pm after a 13-day hiatus. The first session of this parliament originally began on 12 March but was adjourned on 15 March due to the holy Eid-ul-Fitr and other public holidays.
Chief Whip of the National Parliament, Md Nurul Islam, informed the House that there would be a discussion on the Thanksgiving motion on the President’s speech, involving members from both the treasury and opposition benches.
The day’s agenda also included the scheduled Question Hour for ministers and the raising of and brief discussions on notices of public importance. According to sources at the Parliament Secretariat, a total of 50 hours has been allocated for the discussion on the President’s speech.
As per the schedule fixed by the Business Advisory Committee, the current session is slated to continue until 30 April.
