Hurried Passage Of Bills
Criticise absentee MPs not House, says Speaker
Speaker Abdul Hamid yesterday criticised those who speak against hurried passage of bills in parliament.
“It will be fair if they learn about the parliamentary practice before saying something in talk shows [in televisions] or writing in newspapers,” the Speaker said in the parliament yesterday.
He said amendment proposals submitted by MPs on a bill determine the time for passage of a bill. “The Speaker has no alternative but to begin the procedure for passage of the bill hurriedly if MPs, who submit amendment proposals, remain absent,” he said.
Therefore, those who write in newspapers or speak in talk shows should not criticise the Speaker or the parliament if a bill is passed hurriedly, rather they should criticise the MPs, who remain absent despite submitting amendment proposals, he added.
The Speaker made these remarks during passage of the human trafficking prevention and curbing bill. None of the 14 opposition MPs, who submitted amendment proposals on the bill, was present at that time.
Alongside this bill, the mutual assistance to curb criminal activities bill was also passed by the House yesterday.
The Speaker said, "It took 12 minutes to pass the two bills and, of it, I alone spoke for four minutes."
The parliament on November 29 last year passed a bill in four minutes splitting the Dhaka City Corporation into two. The hurried passage of the bill drew much criticism.
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