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Speaker asks AL MPs to attend CPA confce

Staff Correspondent
Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar yesterday clarified his recent remarks on functioning of parliament in absence of the main opposition and urged the Awami League (AL) to go back on its decision to boycott next month's conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in Dhaka.
Briefing newsmen at his Sangsad Bhaban office yesterday afternoon. Sircar referred to his talks with Opposition Chief Whip Abdus Shahid Saturday last and said he (old him that parliament was running with the main opposition staying away from it as was the case during 1991-95and 1996-2001 periods.
The speaker clarified that the subsequent opposition remained absent from the House during the said periods but Ihat did not put to a stop parliament's functioning and wondered what wrong he had said.
His clarification came just two days after the opposition AL demanded an apology from the speaker for his remarks when Shahid went to meet him onSaturday.TheAL took offence at the speaker's reported remark that despite the absence of the opposition pariia-mentwasninningeffectively. At yesterday's press briefing, the speaker read out a written statement highlighting the arrangements for the CPA conference to be held between October 4 and October 12 in Dhaka. Sircar is the chairman-designate of the 49th edition of the CPA conference, which is to be held for the first time in Bangladesh.
Sircar urged the AL to take part in the CPA conference as it concerns the prestige of the country. The AL had earlier announced that it would skip the CPA conference for what it said keeping the opposition away from the conference preparatory process.
The AL also had reservations about the CPA conference steering committeeof 25 members with only two representatives from the main opposition. It also objected to the induction of two non-MPs in the steering committee, who are the two political secretaries to the prime minister.
The speaker however said the government would try to ensure opposition representation in line
with its demand in the subcommittees for the CPA conference. He said the two political secretaries were made members of the steering committee since they would be able to keep the prime minister updated on the preparation for the conference on a day-to-day basis. But, he said, the two did not attend any of the steering committee meetings till date.
"It'll not be wise for the Awami League to boycott the CPA conference," the speaker said, adding that it would be attended by as many as 506 delegates representing 150 national and regional parliaments from 46 countries.
Deputy Speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui, who was present at the briefing, told newsmen that he urged the opposition chief whip Monday to participate in the CPA conference.
Chief Whip Khandakar Delwar Hossain and whips Ashraf Hossain, Rezaul Bari Dina, Shahidul Haq Jamal and Wahidul Alam were also present.