Says committee chief Suranjit
A parliamentary body today retracted from its earlier plan seeking opinion of stakeholders before finalising a constitution amendment bill as the government wants to avoid controversy at this moment regarding the bill seeking restoration of Jatiya Sangsad’s authority to remove judges.
The parliamentary standing committee on law came up with the decision after its final meeting on examining the much-talked about bill seeking to restore parliament’s jurisdiction to remove a Supreme Court judge on grounds of misbehaviour or incapacity.
Emerging from the meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, Suranjit Sengupta, chief of the committee told reporters that experts would be able to give their suggestion while enacting a concerned law after passage of the bill.
Meeting sources said Law Minister Anisul Haque who is also a member of the committee during the meeting informed the parliamentary watchdog about the government’s unwillingness to hold any discussion on the bill at this moment.
Emerging from the meeting he also told reporters that stakeholders will not be invited in the committee to discuss on the bill.
“But the experts will be able to give their suggestion while outlining the law on removal of judges in light of the bill,” the law minister said adding that the law will be enacted within three months passage of the bill.
Asked about the process of formation of an eight-member committee headed by Dr Kamal Hossain to save independence of judiciary, Haque said everybody has freedom to express their views. They have not violated any law by forming the committee.
Earlier Suranjit, also a senior Awami League MP told reporters that the committee will sit with constitution experts and other stakeholders before finalizing the bill.
After the committee’s meeting on Tuesday, Suranjit told reporters that they would sit with stakeholders if the law ministry agreed.
“The committee today [yesterday] finalised scrutiny of the bill and the report would be placed in parliament within a day or two,” Suranjit yesterday told reporters at a briefing at the Jatiya Sangsad Media Centre.
Ziaul Haq Mridha, a Jatiya Party MP and a member of the committee told reporters that at first his party decided to raise their voice against the bill. But after analyzing we found that there was nothing objectionable in the bill.
“Those who are criticizing outside parliament against the bill are not correct. We need such a law for the sake of an independent judiciary. Therefore, Jatiya Party will not oppose the law,” Mridha added.
Source: The Daily Star
