Dhaka Bureau: The Jatiya Party is going to sit as the main opposition party in the Jatiya Sangsad for the third consecutive term. The party’s chairman, GM Quader, is the leader of the opposition. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is senior co-chairman of the party, Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud. And the secretary general of the party. Mujibul Haque Chunnu is the Chief Whip of the Opposition.
Meanwhile, the first seat in the front row of the opposition camp has been reserved for GM Cadre, and the seats in the Parliament session room have been arranged. Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud and Mohd. Mujibul Haque Chunnuke. This information is known from the sources of the Parliament Secretariat. The seat arrangement will be finalized in two to three days in consultation with Parliament Leader and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Jatiya Party won 11 seats in the 12th National Assembly elections held on January 7 amid the exclusion of political parties in their circle, including the BNP. 62 members of Parliament were elected independently. The ruling Awami League won 223 seats and formed the government for the fourth consecutive term under the leadership of party president Sheikh Hasina.
As the number of seats of the Jatiya Party is less and independents are more, there are questions from various quarters about who is sitting in the seats of the opposition party. However, the Jatiya Party has been saying since the beginning that only they have the right to sit in the seats of the opposition party. The first session of the new parliament is going to be held on January 30.
Meanwhile, in a press conference at the Awami League president’s political office in Dhanmondi on Monday, the party’s general secretary and road transport and bridge minister, Obaidul Quader, said that the Jatiya Party is once again going to be the main opposition party in Parliament. He said that Awami League leaders elected as independents will remain independents in Parliament.
However, a week after the swearing in of members of parliament after the election of the 11th National Assembly, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury recognized the second largest political party, the Jatiya Party, as the main opposition party and the then chairman of the party, Hussain Muhammad Ershad, as the leader of the opposition party. This time, almost two weeks have passed, but no decision has been made in this regard.
Usually the second-largest party in the parliament has been sitting in opposition for so long. Only after the first National Assembly elections in 1973 and the National Assembly elections held on February 15, 1996, was there an opposition leader.
After the first parliamentary elections, five independent leaders were elected outside the Awami League, one from each of the two parties. In the sixth parliamentary election, one member of the party and 10 independent members of parliament were elected outside the BNP. In order to become the main opposition party in the Indian Parliament, a party must win at least 10 percent of the seats. However, there is no such obligation in Bangladesh.
Constitutional experts say that independent parliamentarians can sit in the seat of the opposition party in an alliance. In that case, their leader can also be the leader of the opposition. However, out of 62 independent candidates, 59 are Awami League leaders. And they did not show any interest in sitting in the opposition party.
They will, however, get 10 of the proportionally reserved seats for women if they form an alliance. Amidst this controversy, the Jatiya Party elected party chairman GM Quader as their parliamentary party leader on January 18.
The party’s senior co-chairman, Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud, is the deputy leader and general secretary. Mojibul Chunnu was announced as the Chief Whip of the Opposition. After 2 days, the speaker informed me of the matter. The Jatiya Party sent a letter to Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury.
In this regard, Jatiya Party Chairman and Member of Parliament from Rangpur-3 (Sadar) GM Quader said in Rangpur on Monday that Jatiya Party is the main opposition party as it got the second highest number of seats as a party. Whether declared or not, the Jatiya Party will play the role of the opposition party, as per the rules.
At that time, he also said, according to the rules, we (the National Party) are the main opposition party. But officially, I have not received any letters or announcements yet. GM Quader said that the Jatiya Party will always continue to speak about the government’s mistakes in parliament and outside, speaking for the people.
Although the constitution does not say anything about it, Although there is no such thing as an opposition party according to the rules of procedure of the National Parliament, there is the issue of the leader of the opposition party. According to the Rules of Procedure, the Speaker has the power to decide who will be the Leader of the Opposition. Whoever the Speaker recognizes as the Leader of the Opposition shall be the Leader of the Main Opposition in Parliament.
According to the sources of the Parliament Secretariat, the speaker will discuss this matter with the Parliament leader and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina before the session. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury. He shall then communicate his decision in accordance with the powers conferred by the Rules of Procedure. Sources say that the Jatiya Party is going to sit in the seat of the main opposition party again, with 11 seats.
