Bangladesh’s opposition lawmakers walked out of parliament in protest against the government’s move to introduce reform-related bills separately and its failure to establish a Constitutional Reform Council.
The walkout came on Thursday evening as the government prepared to introduce the National Human Rights Commission Bill and the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Bill. Opposition Leader and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said the opposition would not participate in a “piecemeal” reform process.
He said the opposition would continue to demand comprehensive reforms and implementation of the referendum verdict.
“We did not demand constitutional amendments. We demanded the formation of a Reform Council in line with the referendum verdict,” Shafiqur said.
According to Shafiqur, nearly 70 percent of voters supported the reform proposals in the referendum. However, the failure to establish the Reform Council following the parliamentary election and referendum had created uncertainty among the public.
Shafiqur also criticised the government for allowing several reform-related ordinances issued during the interim government to expire instead of enacting them as laws.
He said judicial independence, an independent Anti-Corruption Commission, an independent National Human Rights Commission, the Enforced Disappearance Commission, police reform and an independent Election Commission were among the fundamental areas requiring reform.
A special parliamentary committee formed to review the ordinances had recommended that 98 ordinances be enacted into law without changes, 15 with amendments and 16 be reviewed and introduced as new bills.
By April 10, parliament had passed 91 bills in six days, converting a total of 120 ordinances into laws. However, 20 ordinances, including those concerning the National Human Rights Commission and the prevention and remedy of enforced disappearances, were close to expiring.
The opposition has also demanded a special parliamentary session to discuss the electricity and gas crises, rising prices and the law-and-order situation. Shafiqur said the government had not yet responded to the request.
“On the one hand, people are suffering from load shedding because they are not getting electricity. On the other hand, there are incorrect bills. There is still no satisfactory answer to this. There is also a severe gas crisis,” he said.
Shafiqur accused the government of attempting to sideline the opposition’s main demand for comprehensive reforms by introducing reform-related bills separately.
“We can see that parliament is being pushed in a unilateral and one-sided direction,” he said.
Ref: Bangladesh Media
