10 More Parliamentary Committees Formed, but Opposition MPs Get No Chairmanships

Bangladesh’s parliament formed 10 more standing committees on Sunday, but opposition lawmakers again received no chairmanships on ministry-related committees.

The opposition had demanded 26 percent of the committee leadership posts. The ruling party, however, says opposition lawmakers must first agree to join a special parliamentary committee examining constitutional amendments before they can be considered for standing committee leadership.

Under parliament’s Rules of Procedure, all standing committees must be formed by the third session. The 13th Parliament has 50 committees in total, including 39 focused on ministries and others dealing with parliamentary affairs. With Sunday’s decisions, 36 committees have now been formed, including 30 ministry-related bodies.

Only one opposition lawmaker has so far chaired a standing committee, the Committee on Public Accounts. No opposition MP has been appointed to lead a ministry-related committee. The opposition also rejected a 12-member constitutional amendment committee formed on July 13 and chaired by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, after being asked to nominate five members.

Sunday’s proposals, put forward separately by Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni, passed by voice vote. The new chairmen include Abdus Salam Pintu for food, Abul Khair Bhuiyan for youth and sports, Munshi Rafiqul Alam for disaster management and relief, and other lawmakers overseeing local government, labour, shipping, fisheries, education, culture and Chittagong Hill Tracts affairs. BNP lawmaker Shahadat Hossain was also appointed chairman of the Agriculture Ministry committee, replacing Gayeshwar Chandra Roy.