BNP denies AL JS body chairs in proportion to seats
Shakhawat Liton
The ruling BNP has turned down the main opposition's demand for chairs of parliamentary standing committees in proportion to its share of Jatiya Sangsad (JS) seats, terming the demand unfair.The chairs of 10 JS standing committees Awami League (AL) had asked for in early 2002 are those on public accounts, public undertakings, and ministries of finance, home, communications, local government and rural development, education, agriculture, energy and mineral resources, and relief and disaster management. "It's not fair for you to want a proportionate allotment of chairs," Treasury Bench Chief Whip Khandakar Delwar Hossain said in a letter to Opposition Chief Whip Abdus Shahid, as 'in the Seventh JS the then main opposition BNP was also deprived of its due, proportionate membership in JS bodies.' Despite repeated demands, Hossain added in his August-15 letter, the then ruling AL did not assign any chair of JS bodies at all to the main opposition BNP. But, the AL in its letter demanding the 10 chairs to Hossain claimed in the Seventh JS it did offer proportionate number of JS committee chairs to the BNP, which it did not accept. Chief Whip Hossain however termed the AL's claim misleading and false. Bitterly criticising the ruling alliance for refusing the AL demand, Shahid told The Daily Star yesterday, "On the one hand, its response to our demand comes after about two years and, on the other hand, its attitude shows it isn't sincere at all to making parliament truly functional." He said the AL would reply the treasury bench chief whip's letter after the AL Parliamentary Party examines and discusses it in its meeting. The AL on July 12 last, over two and a half years into the JS's five-year term, submitted a list of its lawmakers for incorporating them into the 45 parliamentary standing committees. But the AL MPs were not absorbed into the committees in the last JS session. In the forwarding letter of the list, Shahid reiterated the AL's demand for at least 10 chairs of the JS committees. The AL list came almost a year after formation of the vital committees during last year budget session. In his August-15 letter, Hossain also said all the JS committees were formed keeping the proportionate slots for the AL vacant, adding the lawmakers duly nominated by the AL would be included in the committees. But, the opposition chief whip pointed out that his party had already submitted its nomination through the July-12 list.
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