BNP parliamentary party meets

The parliamentary group of the BNP went on a huddle on Monday afternoon to discuss the party’s return to the parliament.

Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is chairing the meeting at the third floor of the Parliament building. The meeting started at around 4:25pm.

He added only two members of the group were absent in the meeting.

He also said Jatiya Party Chairman Andalib Rahman Partho and Jamaat-e-Islami lawmakers ANM Shamshul Islam and AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad were also attending the meeting.

The international war crimes tribunal has issued arrest warrant against Hamidur Rahman for contempt of court.

The 18th session of the current parliament is expected to start from 5:00pm on Monday. The Awami League led ruling coalition will place its last budget in this session.

“We will discuss about joining the parliament,” Farroque told bdnews24.com earlier.

Most of the lawmakers of the BNP-led opposition stand to lose their parliamentary seat because of their prolonged absence from Parliament.

Article 67 of the Constitution specifies that lawmakers who remain absent for 90 consecutive working days will automatically lose their seats.

At the end of the 17th session that ended on Apr 30, Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia had been absent from the House for 83 consecutive days.

BNP lawmakers last attended Parliament on Mar 18 last year, the twelfth session. They have been boycotting Parliament for 77 consecutive days.

Of the 39 opposition seats in Parliament, the BNP has 35, the Jamaat-e-Islami two, Bangladesh Jatiya party (BJP) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) one seat each.

Source: Bd news24