Bangla Press Desk: Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed on Friday urged opposition lawmaker Hasnat Abdullah to have patience when voicing opposition at the parliament, and cautioned him that the assembly was not a place for “demonstrations.”
“You cannot get so impatient here Mr Abdullah,” the speaker told the NCP leader and Cumilla-4 lawmaker as he was apparently getting restless when expressing his opposition to an amendment to a pre-discussed new bill.“This is not Shahbagh Square, [rather] this is parliament,” the speaker added.
“You have to wait patiently [during a parliament session], and listen to others. Furthermore, there is very little scope for verbal exchanges at the parliament. You have to file a notice and the parliament will take decisions on it.”
The speaker also lauded the “splendid mutual understanding” between the ruling party and opposition lawmakers amid the ongoing parliamentary session as “unique” in the history of Bangladesh.
Citing his past experiences in six previous parliaments, Hafiz Uddin said sessions many a time used to be rife with exchanges of expletives and obscene remarks.
In contrast, the launch of the 13th Parliament has been “much better,” he added.
Referring to a conciliatory statement from the Law Minister, the speaker urged the opposition to bring a draft of another amended bill in the next session. The government would certainly consider the amended bill, he added.
The parliament has a huge opposition, with 77-78 lawmakers, which is unique in the country’s history. He urged all across the political spectrum to mitigate internal differences and work unitedly.
