Editorial
Unparliamentary words in parliament
Don't demean the House
We are outraged and shocked by an AL MP's comments in the House on the leader of the opposition that go beyond all norms of parliamentary decorum. The vitriol the lady MP representing Gaibandha-2, hurled at Khaleda Zia was perhaps one of the meanest forms of personal attack ever witnessed in the Jatiyo Sangsad. Such utterances are uncalled for. These are not only self demeaning, but more damagingly, it denigrates the dignity of the parliament even more. This comes on the heels of a similar attack by another AL MP not long ago which we had strongly deplored.
We want to restate most strongly that parliament is the house of people where lawmakers must prove equal to the dignity and prestige that it embodies. Elected MPs are expected to represent their respective constituencies and engage in discussions on legislating, policymaking, good governance and accelerating the process of national development. In less than a month, however, another AL lawmaker has come up with an even more despicable personal attack on the opposition leader when neither she nor any of her party members was present at the session. It was equally distressing to see her fellow MPs applaud her.
We wonder why the chair of the session, the Deputy Speaker, did not stop her. And the proceedings were being telecast live. When a lawmaker tends to violate the propriety and standard norms of parliamentary practices, it is the duty of the chair to enforce the rules of procedures.
The MP's should remember that they have been voted to the parliament not to abuse and suppress the opposition but to turn it into a centre of enlightening debates on national issues. And if the MPs are supposed to epitomize good behaviour we are sorry that the younger generations, who are supposed to look up to their leaders, have very poor examples in front of them.
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