Kamran Reza Chowdhury and Sumon Mahbub Senior Correspondents
Dhaka, Jan 25 (bdnews24.com) – The maiden sitting of the ninth parliament Sunday saw BNP stage a walkout ahead of President Iajuddin Ahmed's speech, accusing him of breaching his oath in office.
"The President broke his oath by not arranging elections within 90 days," Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury MP told bdnews24.com after the walkout.
"We cannot hear this President speak. For two years, this President kept this country under undemocratic rule," he said.
But the rest of the House heard the president as he read out a written speech, drafted by the government.
The speech praised prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her government and its 'Charter for Change'.
"This parliament formed through a free, fair and neutral election is the parliament for change," Iajuddin Ahmed told the House, in his last address to parliament.
"The people's expectation from this government is almost boundless," he said.
The president outlined what he hoped would be the main objectives of the government, among them poverty alleviation, elimination of corruption and terrorism, trial of war criminals and establishment of good governance.
The presidential speech over, the Speaker Abdul Hamid adjourned the House at around 6.30 pm to meet again at 4:45pm on Wednesday.
When the House resumed just after the Magrib break, BNP's Chowdhury rose trying to draw the chair's attention but was not immediately allowed to speak.
At this stage, leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia also rose from her seat and led fellow MPs out of the House. Two Jamaat MPs and the lone BJP MP also followed her.
The speaker was then heard saying: "Why are you leaving? Your president is going to address (the parliament). And you are leaving the House."
This was the third time the main opposition staged a walkout at the inaugural sitting of a new parliament. Awami League walked out of the maiden sitting of the fifth parliament on April 5, 1991. BNP staged a walkout at the first sitting of the seventh on July 14, 1996.
JS returns to business Architect Louis Kahn's magnificent marvel, the seat of Bangladesh's democracy, returned to business on Sunday after nearly two and a half years.
Parliament last sat on Oct. 4, 2006.
The new parliament began its session around 3.15pm with the arrival of outgoing speaker Jamiruddin Sircar.
Four minutes later, as the recital from the Quran was on, leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia led her party MPs to the House, wearing black badges.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina and most treasury bench members had arrived much earlier.
Sircar conducted the election of the new speaker and deputy speaker Shawkat Ali—both endorsed unanimously by the House— and gave a valedictory statement before leaving his chair.
The president administered the oaths of the two during a break after the election, and Abdul Hamid returned to the House to assume a role not unknown to a speaker who was first elected in 1970.
Among other rituals, Hamid read out a long list of prominent people who had died since the last parliament session and allowed the law minister to table all 122 ordinances passed in absence of parliament.
PPs meet
The two major parliamentary groups had earlier discussed their strategy in the afternoon before walking into the House.
Prime minister and leader of the House Sheikh Hasina chaired a meeting of the 228-strong AL Parliamentary Party (ALPP) at 2pm at the treasury bench conference room on the ninth floor of the parliament building.
Leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia met 27 fellow MPs at the opposition conference room on the same floor.
New Speaker invites 'strong criticism'
Speaker Abdul Hamid invited opposition MPs on Sunday to hold the ruling party accountable through 'strong criticism'.
Veteran no-nonsense parliamentarian Hamid became the new Speaker and retired colonel Shawkat Ali Deputy Speaker in the first sitting of the new parliament.
In his maiden speech, the second-time speaker stressed active participation by all members of the House.
"I hope the opposition will strongly criticise the ruling party's flaws," said Hamid.
He also asked members of parliament to work towards the country's economic development, "free of all political interests".
"Let our aim be to free this country of poverty."
The ninth Parliament unanimously elected Hamid for the top office on a formal proposal from chief whip Abdus Shahid, seconded by whip Shagufta Yasmin Emily.
Ali's election was also unanimous, on a proposal from whip A SM Feroj. Another whip Mujibul Huq supported him.
Opposition BNP lawmakers were silent as the two were voted in.
122 ordinances tabled
One of the first tasks of the new speaker was to invite the law minister to present a raft of ordinances passed by the immediate past interim government during its two-year tenure.
Law minister Shafiq Ahmed tabled a total of 122 ordinances. A panel tasked to examine the scores of ordinances passed has initially recommended that 45 of them be enacted, the law minister said earlier in the week.
"All the ordinances will be placed on the first day of the first session of the parliament on Jan 25. Of them, the scrutiny committee will recommend 45 ordinances to tabled as bills," Shafiq Ahmed had said.
Sircar bids farewell, advises 'tolerance'
The outgoing Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar adjourned the House at 3.44pm to allow oath-taking of the two new presiding officers by the President.
Sircar in his farewell speech said solutions to all problems are inherent in democracy.
"What is needed is a proper political culture and tolerance," he said.
BNP deputy speaker
Since the Awami League did not offer the post of deputy speaker to the opposition at the first sitting, the government, if it wants to keep its pre-polls pledge, will have to amend the article 74 of the constitution to create a second post .
The BNP had hinted that it would accept the post of deputy speaker only if it was offered on the first day.
Opposition BNP MPs entered the House wearing black badges on Sunday.
There was some question in preceding days as to whether BNP lawmakers would join the inaugural sitting of parliament since the day coincides with the introduction of one-party rule in 1975, they said.
"This day has been etched into the memory of the people as a 'black day'," BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain had said. "It is not clear why that day has been set for the first sitting of parliament."
BNP MPs led by chairperson Khaleda Zia leaves the parliament boycotting the speech of the President. Photo: TV Grab.
The main opposition BNP today walked out of the Jatiya Sangsad ahead of President Iajuddin Ahmed's speech in protest against his failure to hold the ninth parliamentary elections within 90 days.
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