Special committee overshadowed budget debate, bills passed hurriedly

The second session of the 13th parliament ended last Wednesday. It was the budget session. The 26-working-day session was not confined to the budget alone; parliament was also vocal on various political issues, including the opposition's walkout over the formation of a special committee on constitutional amendment, the ownership of Islami Bank, Jamaat-e-Islami's role in 1971, the trial over the killings during the July mass uprising, and the trial of the Awami League. There was also criticism over deviations from the legislative process.

A budget of Tk 9.38 trillion was passed during the session. A total of 316 members of parliament (MPs) took part in the general discussion on the budget. Ten bills were passed. Eleven parliamentary committees, including a special committee tasked with making recommendations on constitutional amendment, were formed during the session.

According to sources at the Parliament Secretariat, 278 questions were submitted for the Prime Minister to answer during the session. Of these, replies to 35 questions were tabled. A total of 5,031 questions were submitted for ministers of various ministries, of which 3,474 were answered.

One of the main businesses of parliament is to enact laws. A total of 10 bills were passed during the session, including the supplementary budget for the previous fiscal year and three bills related to the budget for the current fiscal year. Apart from these, a Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker introduced two private members' bills but later withdrew both.

The bills passed include the Finance Bill, two Appropriation Bills, the Bogura University Bill, the Investment Bangladesh Bill, the Bangladesh Medical University (Amendment) Bill, the Public Examinations (Offences) (Amendment) Bill, the Gambling Prevention Bill, the Narcotics Control (Amendment) Bill, and the Cyber Security (Amendment) Bill.

As in the first session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad, the second session also saw instances where bills were introduced and passed in haste. Although the opposition raised objections, those were rejected by voice vote.

Particularly on the final day of the session, Wednesday, the process through which the Investment Bangladesh Bill was passed came under criticism. No notice was given, as required under the rules, before the bill was introduced. Moreover, the bill was passed immediately after being tabled. There was no discussion on the bill.

Under parliamentary practice, after a bill is introduced, it is referred to the relevant parliamentary standing committee. That was not done in this case. The opposition was not even given the opportunity to seek public opinion, refer the bill to a select committee, or propose amendments. It took about 30 minutes from the introduction of the bill in parliament to its passage.

Even during that half-hour, most of the discussion centred on flaws in the process of passing the bill. Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman, along with several other members of parliament, strongly criticised the matter.

However, the government has assured that although the bill has been passed, the opposition's amendment proposals will be accepted later if they are found to be reasonable. This is not a new law. Parliament is ending its session today (that day). Therefore, the bill has to be passed.

Earlier, on 28 June, the Bangladesh Medical University (Amendment) Bill and the Public Examinations (Offences) (Amendment) Bill were introduced without prior notice.

The opposition also objected on that day. It walked out of parliament, protesting that it had been given less time while the ruling party was given more time, that copies of the bills had not been provided in advance, and that points of order had not been allowed.

The Bogura University Bill was passed to establish a university in Bogura. The Bogura Science and Technology University Act had been enacted in 2001 when the BNP government was in power. However, it was never implemented. After returning to power, the BNP repealed the previous law and passed a new bill.

The Investment Bangladesh Bill provides for the formation of a new Investment Bangladesh Authority by merging the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), the Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPP) and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).

The Public Examinations (Offences) (Amendment) Bill introduces provisions for punishment for digital manipulation, online question paper leaks and unfair evaluation of answer scripts.

The Narcotics Control (Amendment) Bill provides for the death penalty as the maximum punishment for drug trading and related offences committed through cyberspace, and also provides for the establishment of separate narcotics tribunals.

A new Gambling Prevention Act has been enacted by repealing the Public Gambling Act of 1867. It provides for a maximum punishment of seven years' imprisonment for online gambling, betting and match-fixing. As punishment for gambling-related cyber offences has been incorporated into this law, Section 20 of the Cyber Security Act relating to gambling has been repealed.

Through the passage of the Bangladesh Medical University (Second Amendment) Bill, the Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) has been empowered to establish profit-making or non-profit companies to expand the scope of healthcare services.

After the budget was passed, the most discussed event of the session was the formation of a special committee for constitutional amendment. The opposition had long maintained that it did not want constitutional amendment, but constitutional reform. For that, it said, a Constitutional Reform Council should be formed. There was no need for any special committee for constitutional amendment. The opposition also said it would not be part of such a committee.

However, the ruling party had hoped that the opposition would nominate members to the committee. The committee was supposed to have 17 members. The opposition was requested to nominate five members, but it did not submit any names.

On July 13, a 12-member special committee was formed with Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed as its chairman. Rejecting the proposal to form the committee, the opposition walked out of Parliament that day. In its absence, the proposal to form the special committee was passed in Parliament. However, the government has said that if the opposition later submits names, the committee will be reconstituted to include its representatives.

One of the important businesses of the parliament is to hold the executive accountable. Parliamentary committees provide an opportunity to perform this task. In particular, ministry-related parliamentary committees can play an important role in this regard. However, not all ministry-related parliamentary standing committees have yet been formed.

So far, nine ministry-related parliamentary committees have been formed. They are the parliamentary standing committees on the ministries of Finance, Planning, Law, Industries, Commerce, Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Water Resources and Liberation War Affairs. All of these committees are chaired by BNP lawmakers.

Apart from these, the Public Accounts Committee was also formed during the second session. The chairmanship of this important committee has been given to the opposition. During discussions of the National Consensus Commission under the interim government, it was agreed that the chairmanships of four parliamentary committees would be given to the opposition. The Public Accounts Committee was one of them.

In addition to political speeches and debates on the budget, the session also featured scheduled debates and discussions on several issues. For example, there was a lengthy discussion on a notice calling for Islami Bank's shares to be returned to their rightful owners and for an end to political interference in the bank's management. During the discussion on the trial over the killings during the July mass uprising, opposition lawmakers demanded that the Awami League be tried as a political party. Both notices had been brought by the opposition.

Besides these, a motion of thanks for the success of the Prime Minister's recent visits to Malaysia and China was unanimously adopted in Parliament. On the other hand, Parliament adopted a condolence motion over the death of former Qatari Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman proposed naming the road on which the Embassy of Qatar in Dhaka is located after the former Qatari Amir. During the discussion on the proposal, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said that an appropriate road in Dhaka would be named after Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani as a mark of respect for him.