Time waste in parliament

To us, it is not surprising that only 1.8 per cent of parliament's time has been spent on making laws out of its total working hours. It can easily be understood what amount of time is simply wasted in our Jatiya Sangsad. It is learnt that about Tk 78,000 is spent every single minute on parliament session. These facts were recently released by the Transparency International.

What a big amount the poor nation is spending on keeping  parliament alive? But what do we get in return? We have to make parliament effective and people-oriented. It has become a trend in our country that parliament members, when in opposition, always avoid the legislature and try to settle their scores on the streets. This is not at all desirable.  

The MPs must remember that the people elected  them to the Jatiya Sangsad to work for their welfare, not to waste their money. We are also used to seeing the Jatiya Sangsad turning into a place for mud-slinging. This is shameful. Many MPs play truant and do not attend parliament sessions regularly but never fail to receive pay and allowances. What a shame! On several occasions due to quorum crisis the session cannot start on time. What a disgrace! I thank  the TIB for publishing the report as it will work like an eye opener to the voters who alone can put pressure on the MPs to be more conscious about their sacred duty to people and the country.

Mohammed Fahim

Maghbazar, Dhaka