Home minister faces intense grilling in JS
Home minister Salahuddin Ahmed came under fire from opposition lawmakers in the Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday after remarks he made while responding to questions from two lawmakers triggered a noisy protest in the chamber, forcing speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad to intervene repeatedly.
BANGLADESH
Home minister Salahuddin Ahmed came under fire from opposition lawmakers in the Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday after remarks he made while responding to questions from two lawmakers triggered a noisy protest in the chamber, forcing speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad to intervene repeatedly.
Home minister Salahuddin Ahmed came under fire from opposition lawmakers in the Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday after remarks he made while responding to questions from two lawmakers triggered a noisy protest in the chamber, forcing speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad to intervene repeatedly.
The confrontation took place during the third session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad as Cumilla-4 lawmaker Hasnat Abdullah and Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Shafiqul Islam Masud raised concerns over the law and order, attacks on lawmakers, alleged arrests of opposition activists, and the government’s handling of public security.
While responding to Hasnat’s supplementary question, Salahuddin said, ‘I couldn’t understand if it was a question or a Paltan speech.’
Later, in response to Masud, he said, ‘Making a speech at Shahbagh Square and making a speech in parliament are not the same thing.’
The remarks angered opposition lawmakers, who protested from their benches. The uproar became so loud that the home minister was unable to continue his response for some time.
Hasnat Abdullah raised concerns over the law and order and restrictions on cultural activities in Brahmanbaria.
He said that musical programmes and boat races had been stopped in the district despite the home minister having described Brahmanbaria as a cultural district.
He also referred to restrictions affecting cinemas and other cultural activities.
Hasnat asked whether the home minister had succeeded in restoring law and order during his six months in office and whether he had taken adequate steps to establish the rule of law.
Salahuddin objected to the manner in which the question had been presented, saying whether law and order had improved was one issue, while the absence of cinema halls in Brahmanbaria was another.
He also questioned figures cited by Hasnat regarding killings and injuries, saying he did not know the basis or source of the statistics.
His ‘Paltan speech’ remark, however, quickly became the focus of the confrontation.
Jamaat lawmaker Masud subsequently raised broader concerns over public security.
He said people were being robbed in broad daylight using firearms and that elected lawmakers had also come under attack.
Masud referred to attacks on both government and opposition lawmakers, alleging that suspects in cases filed over such attacks were not being arrested, while opposition activists were being detained in what he described as false cases.
He asked what measures the home minister was taking to curb armed robbery and lawlessness and to ensure that those accused of attacking lawmakers were arrested.
Salahuddin asked for specific information about the alleged failure to arrest suspects, including details of which opposition lawmaker’s case had not resulted in an arrest.
Questions in parliament, he said, should be specific and distinguishing between parliamentary questions and political speeches.
The home minister’s remark about Shahbagh Square further irked opposition lawmakers and as the uproar continued, Salahuddin clarified that his comments had not been directed at any particular lawmaker.
Amid continued protests, he eventually said, ‘Yes, I withdraw. I withdraw. All right,’ he said.
The withdrawal, however, did not immediately restore order. The speaker repeatedly asked lawmakers to sit down and allow the minister to complete his response.
Opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman later strongly objected to the home minister’s conduct.
He alleged that the home minister had repeatedly spoken to lawmakers in a dismissive manner since the beginning of the session, mentioning that Thursday’s remarks were no isolated incident.
Shafiqur also objected to the minister’s attempt to assume a teacher-like role in parliament.
‘We did not come here to become his students,’ he said.
He demanded an apology and called for the minister’s remarks to be expunged from the parliamentary proceedings.
The speaker then sought to restore discipline, stressing that parliament existed to reflect the hopes and aspirations of the people and could function only if its rules and conventions were respected.
‘I am deeply saddened to observe that intolerance is gradually emerging among some members,’ Hafiz Uddin said.
The speaker said he would examine the home minister’s remarks and expunge anything found to be unparliamentary.
Hafiz Uddin recalled the troubled history of Bangladesh’s parliamentary politics and urged both government and opposition lawmakers to exercise patience.
He later issued a stronger warning over the conduct of the House.
‘I am somewhat concerned about the future of this parliament,’ he said.
Independent lawmaker Rumeen Farhana also criticised Salahuddin over the law and order situation, saying it had become difficult to raise the issue in the Jatiya Sangsad as he often responded with sarcasm or rhetorical words instead of addressing the substance of the concerns.
‘The difficulty in talking about law and order is that the home minister either responds with sarcasm or uses clever wordplay to divert the issue,’ Rumeen said in Jatiya Sangsad.
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