Ten more parliamentary committees formed with BNP lawmakers at the helm

Bangladesh’s 13th Parliament formed 10 more standing committees, but opposition lawmakers again received no chairmanship of a ministry-related committee. The opposition had demanded 26% of all committee chairmanships.

The ruling party has made opposition participation in the special parliamentary committee on constitutional amendment a condition for allowing opposition MPs to lead standing committees. The opposition was asked to nominate five members to that committee, chaired by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, but rejected it outright.

Parliament has 50 standing committees, including 39 linked to ministries and the rest dealing with parliamentary affairs. Under the Rules of Procedure, all must be formed by the third session. After yesterday’s appointments, 36 committees had been formed, including 30 ministry-related bodies.

So far, only one opposition lawmaker has become a committee chair, leading the Committee on Public Accounts. No opposition MP has chaired a ministry-related committee.

Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni separately proposed the formation and reconstitution of the committees, and lawmakers approved the proposals by voice vote. The new chairs include Abdus Salam Pintu for Food, Abul Khair Bhuiyan for Youth and Sports, Munshi Rafiqul Alam for Disaster Management and Relief, and AKM Selim Reza Habib for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives.

Other appointments went to Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas for Labour and Employment, Zainul Abdin Farooq for Shipping, Khairul Kabir Khokon for Fisheries and Livestock, Mahmuda Habiba for Primary and Mass Education, Barkat Ullah Bulu for Cultural Affairs, and Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan for Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs. BNP lawmaker Shahadat Hossain was separately appointed chair of the Agriculture Ministry committee, replacing Gayeshwar Chandra Roy.