A heated debate erupted in parliament on Thursday over the use of the term "loan defaulter" to describe lawmakers, prompting Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed to assert that no sitting member of parliament can be legally classified as such.
Speaking on a point of order, Salahuddin Ahmed argued that all current lawmakers fulfilled the necessary eligibility requirements under election laws before contesting the 13th national election and, therefore, could not be labelled as loan defaulters.
"Those who are here, none of them is a loan defaulter," he told the House during the debate on whether the remark should be removed from the parliamentary record.
He stressed that due respect should be shown to all members of the House.
Citing the Representation of the People Order (RPO) and other legal provisions, the minister noted that any individual officially declared a loan defaulter by a court is disqualified from contesting elections.
He argued that having outstanding debts does not necessarily make a person a loan defaulter. "Someone may be indebted, but not a loan defaulter," he added.
Salahuddin further noted that some lawmakers who had previously faced allegations of loan default had subsequently been cleared by the courts and declared eligible to contest elections.
"When the High Court or the Supreme Court disposes of a case and declares a person eligible, that person can no longer be considered a loan defaulter," he said.
The home minister described such references as defamatory and called for their removal from the record.
BNP lawmaker AKM Fazlul Haque Milon said that the current parliament was formed through a credible election following years of political struggle and sacrifice, and that the lawmakers should avoid comments that undermine the dignity of the House.
"Loan defaulters cannot contest parliamentary elections. So, how can this be called a Parliament of loan defaulters?" he asked, urging the chair to expunge the expression from the official record.
Deputy Speaker Kayser Kamal, who chaired the session, said the matter would be reviewed before any decision was made.
"We will examine the statement. If it is found in the record and deemed appropriate for expunction, it will be expunged," he said.
Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam, however, argued that the statement did not warrant expunction, noting that concerns regarding loan defaulters among lawmakers were raised both before and after the elections.
He pointed out that he had previously referred in parliament to the volume of defaulted loans linked to several lawmakers, though he had not disclosed their identities.
"If a political party nominates loan defaulters and brings them into parliament, the responsibility lies with the party. People may naturally describe it as a Parliament of loan defaulters," he said.
Independent lawmaker Rumeen Farhana also took part in the discussion, citing data from Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), which she said showed that members of the current parliament collectively owe Tk 11,356 crore (Tk 113.56 billion) to banks.
The lawyer-turned-lawmaker alleged that some candidates manage to reschedule loans or secure court orders temporarily suspending their loan-defaulter status in the Credit Information Bureau (CIB) ahead of elections.
She further noted that the country's total volume of non-performing loans has reached around Tk 11 lakh crore (Tk 11 trillion).
newsmanjasi@gamil.com