7 sittings left to secure memberships, Sangsad goes into session on June 3
BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed speaks at a programme of Swadhinata Forum at the Jatiya Press Club on Friday.
Main opposition BNP has decided to join the next Jatiya Sangsad session that will start on June 3, Moudud Ahmed, a BNP standing committee member, said on Friday.
“We will join parliament, but how many days we will be able to continue with the session that would depend on the attitude of the government,” he said.
Addressing a rally before the Jatiya Press Club around noon, the BNP leader said, “BNP is not joining the session following the government’s call, rather it would join parliament for the sake of the people.”
“The government’s act is self-contradictory”, he said adding that they call us to join parliament, on the other hand, kept arresting opposition leaders.
Swadhinata Forum, a pro-BNP organisation, organised the rally to protest the ‘forced disappearance’ of BNP leader Ilias Ali.
It also demanded reopening of private TV channels Diganta TV and Islamic TV.
Lawmakers belonging to the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Jatiya Party have remained absent from the House for 83 consecutive sittings since March last year, sources in the parliament secretariat said.
They will lose their membership of parliament if they are absent for seven more consecutive sittings in the upcoming session, convened by President Abdul Hamid on May 14.
Ilias Ali went missing along with his driver on the night of April 18 of last year while returning to his Banani residence.
The government on May 6 halted the broadcast of the two channels on allegations of airing provocative programmes to whip up public sentiment.
Source: The Daily Star
