Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam voiced frustration Wednesday that all of the star-marked questions scheduled for the prime minister to answer during question time in the Jatiya Sangsad had come from ruling-party MPs. He raised the issue on a point of order in parliament, drawing the Speaker’s attention to the matter.
“All eight of the star-marked questions set aside for the prime minister today are from ruling-party MPs,” the opposition chief whip said. “Opposition MPs submitted questions too. But while you [the Speaker] gave us four slots before, today all eight went to ruling-party MPs.”
Emphasizing the importance of government accountability, Nahid Islam said the more questions opposition MPs are able to ask, the stronger the culture of accountability becomes. He asked the Speaker to pay special attention to the issue going forward.
Responding to the complaint, government Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said the government always wants to be accountable to the people and is an accountable government. He said the allocation of questions is governed by rules and order of submission rather than party affiliation. “This isn’t about ruling party or opposition. Under the rules, whoever submits their question first gets the first opportunity — that’s the process, and it’s the Speaker who selects accordingly,” he said.
Noting that opposition members falling behind was their own disadvantage, he expressed hope that everyone would now compete to submit questions on time going forward.
After hearing both sides, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram explained the question-submission process, saying priority is given based on a specific order of submission.
Recalling old memories, the Speaker said: “I remember clearly — in the past, then-Health Minister Sardar Sakhawat Hossain Bakul would take up position outside the question-submission office the night before, bedding and all. There were one or two other members who used to sleep there overnight as well. Many members would also send their private secretaries to hold a spot.”
The Speaker said MPs arrive early to secure their own priority, and that there is fierce competition among lawmakers when it comes to submitting questions. He advised opposition members to follow that same tradition and try to submit their questions early as well, while assuring that the matter would be given proper consideration going forward.