The current government is reviewing 101 agreements signed with India during the tenure of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. Chief Whip of parliament Nurul Islam Moni said the agreements are being examined for any provisions that go against the country’s interests, with a decision to follow soon.
The chief whip made the remarks at a press conference at parliament’s media centre at 11am on Friday, September 11, following the third session of the 13th parliament.
He said the government wants to maintain relations with neighbouring India while giving the highest priority to the country’s interests — friendship between Bangladesh and India will continue, he said, but that friendship will never be allowed to run against the country’s interests. He said agreements signed with India under the Sheikh Hasina government are being reviewed, and where anything conflicting with the country’s interests is identified, necessary action will be taken.
Citing the example of Chattogram port, Nurul Islam Moni said the previous government had put in place various arrangements and agreements under which, if a Bangladeshi and a “friendly country’s” ship arrived at port together, the friendly country’s ship would be unloaded first; the current government is trying to move away from numerous such agreements that go against the country’s interests.
The chief whip also voiced displeasure that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was not invited to the BRICS summit, expressing dissatisfaction with India over the omission of the prime minister of an independent country from the invitation.
Outlining the third session’s proceedings, the chief whip said six bills were passed over the nine working days of the session, and 1,678 of members’ questions were answered, of which the prime minister directly answered 15. He said the bill on property transfer ensures that even after parents hand over assets to a child during their lifetime, their right to enjoy that property is preserved; ruling-party members were disheartened when opposition leaders walked out in protest of the bill.
On the power crisis, the chief whip said building a new 500MW power plant takes at least two to two-and-a-half years. He said huge sums were spent under the previous government by paying capacity charges to various plants even when they were not generating power, and that the current government has scrapped the earlier indemnity arrangements that shielded such deals.