The main opposition in parliament, Jatiya Party, is hardly in an opposition mood, neither while passing laws, nor in general discussion in the House.
The 10th parliament has passed a total of 48 laws in the last two years, but it did not have to face any opposition whatsoever from the opposition parties. Even Jatiya Party placed no adjournment proposals in this span of time.
In fact, it was 16 independent MPs who were more vocal than the 40-strong opposition party. Many independent MPs have termed the Jatiya Party a stage-managed opposition party in parliament.
The ruling Bangladesh Awami League (AL), however, says that the 10th parliament has brought an end to the two-decade long culture of parliament boycott by the opposition.
The opposition praising the treasury benchers is also a feature of this parliament, formed through a controversial general election boycotted by all of the major opposition parties in 2014.
The 10th parliament began its journey on 29 January 2014.
The chairman of the opposition party, Hussain Muhammad Ershad, a former military dictator, is a special emissary of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
Having representatives from the opposition party in the cabinet has called the role of the party as the opposition in parliament into question.
As contacted by the Prothom Alo, opposition chief whip Tajul Islam Chowdhury said Jatiya Party praises the good deeds of the government and criticises its shortcomings. “But it does not make parliament ineffective by boycotting it.”
Chittagong University’s public administration professor Nizam Uddin Ahmed told the Prothom Alo that Jatiya Party put forth no adjournment proposal in the last two years, lending credence to the notion that it is not a real opposition. “No further explanation is required to prove the notion. You see, a political party cannot play the role of an opposition keeping its representatives in the cabinet.”
Source: Prothom Alo