Budget session begins with new Speaker, opposition’s return

 The last budget session of the current Parliament began on Monday marking a number of important events, including the return of the opposition lawmakers after their prolonged boycott of 83 workdays.

The session started at 5:38 pm with the first female Speaker of the country, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, in the chair.

This is the first time in the country when the Speaker, the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition are all women.

Led by BNP chairperson and Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia, the opposition lawmakers also joined the House.

Forty-one opposition MPs — 38 from BNP, two from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and one from Bangladesh Jatiya Party — remained absent from Parliament for 83 consecutive days.

According to records, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia attended only eight of the 370 workdays during the 17 sessions of the current parliament.

Other BNP MPs attended the House only 52 days, setting a new record of parliament boycott.

BNP has so far boycotted sittings of the current parliament for 318 working days.

Source: UNB Connect