Newly elected members of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad took oath on Tuesday at the parliament complex, though lawmakers from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) declined to be sworn in as members of a proposed Constitution Reform Council, triggering sharp criticism from the opposition.
The oath-taking ceremony was held at the oath room of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban and administered by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin. The event began with recitation from the Holy Quran by senior parliament imam Qari Mohammad Saifullah and Abu Raihan. Parliament secretary Kaniz Mowla conducted the proceedings.
In the first phase, newly elected BNP lawmakers -- including party chair and prime minister Tarique Rahman, took oath as members of parliament.
However, they did not take any oath as members of the proposed Constitution Reform Council raising constitutional issues.
Standing committee member and MP Salahuddin Ahmed later said their oath was administered strictly in line with constitutional provisions. "There is no provision in the Constitution for taking oath as members of a proposed Constitution Reform Council," he said, defending the party's decision.
The Jamaat-led 11-party opposition alliance criticised the BNP move, calling it a betrayal of the spirit of the July Movement.
In the second phase, lawmakers from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, including ameer Shafiqur Rahman, took oath both as members of parliament and as members of the Constitution Reform Council. Independent MP Rumeen Farhana and other independent members took oath as MPs. Ishraque Hossain who was late to attend the BNP oath taking took oath with Jamaat independent lawmakers. Both Rumeen and Ishraque skipped the Reform Council oath.
At 12:23pm, newly elected Jamaat MPs were sworn in as members of parliament, and at 12:27pm they took the additional oath as members of the reform council.
In the third phase, lawmakers from the National Citizen Party (NCP) -- including its convener Nahid Islam, Abul Hasnat and Akhtar Hossain -- also took oath both as MPs and as members of the Constitution Reform Council. Their oath-taking concluded around 1:00pm.
According to official figures, 208 BNP MPs, 68 from Jamaat, six from the NCP, one from Islami Andolan Bangladesh, one from Khelafat Majlis, two from Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, one from the National Party BJP, and seven independent candidates were sworn in.
Following the ceremony, members of the 11-party alliance held a meeting at the parliament complex chaired by Shafiqur Rahman.
Explaining his party's position, Shafiqur Rahman said the ruling party had disregarded the aspirations of July. "Out of respect for the martyrs, we did not attend the ministers' oath-taking ceremony," he said.
He added that the invitation letter mentioned two oaths -- one as member of parliament and another related to the referendum on constitutional reform. "After entering the room, the secretary informed us that the ruling party had taken oath only as members of parliament. We took both," he said.
The dispute over the additional oath underscores emerging tensions between the ruling BNP and the Jamaat-led opposition over the scope and legitimacy of proposed constitutional reforms, even as the new parliament begins its tenure.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com
