Govt offers opposition deputy speaker post: Salahuddin

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said the government has offered Deputy Speaker post to opposition party in the next Jatiya Sangsad, reports BSS.
The government has already made a proposal to the main opposition party to pick their candidate for the position of Deputy Speaker in line with the July National Charter agreement, he said.
The home minister said this while talking to journalists after the cabinet meeting at the Secretariat in the capital on Monday.
Salahuddin Ahmed, also a standing committee member of BNP, said the government intends to appoint the Deputy Speaker from the opposition party as a mark of respect for the July National Charter, a political agreement reached on the basis of consensus.
"We want to start implementing the political agreement we reached on the basis of consensus and respecting the July National Charter as a document of political agreement," he said.
"On behalf of our party, we have made an offer to the main opposition party verbally and in person that they should decide on the Deputy Speaker," he said.
According to him, the Deputy Speaker could be elected at the same time as the Speaker during the formation of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad.
The development signals a possible move toward greater political cooperation between the ruling party and the opposition as the new parliament prepares to begin its proceedings.