Treasury bench members grilled Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury in the parliament yesterday for his "weak handling" of the price hike of essentials.

The minister defended himself saying repeatedly that the government neither fixes nor controls prices in a market economy.

"And we are going to introduce an independent quasi-judicial watchdog body to monitor the commodity market," Khosru told the House while facing a volley of questions from both treasury bench and opposition lawmakers.

BNP lawmaker Mashiur

Rahman referred to the commerce minister's remarks on market economy and said that the market economy does not give the traders the licence to fix prices arbitrarily.

Even in the United Sates of America, the greatest exponent of market economy, price tags are put on every commodity. "Why Bangladesh cannot introduce such a system," asked the ruling party MP.

The government has fixed kerosene price at Tk 17 per litre and soya-bean oil at Tk 48, but people have to pay Tk 19 and Tk 52 for the two commodities, he observed. "It cannot be accepted."

MPs from both the government and the opposition welcomed

Mashiur's remarks.

Earlier, while formulating his question, Mashiur was interrupted by the

Chair, but most of the ruling party lawmakers were seen seeking time for his question formulation.

Mashiur told the speaker that he (speaker) did not go to his constituency in the last two months and did not have to face questions from people." But we have to answer questions. And we cannot take the responsibility of the commerce minister's weakness."

In reply to these questions, the commerce minister told the House, "The government cannot fix or control the prices, rather it can fix a price limit." To fix up the limit, he said, the commerce ministry had drafted a law to set up an independent consumer council.

Riasat Ali Biswas of the Jamaat-e-Islami asked the minister whether he had any plan to save the government from public criticism caused by the price hike. His question was greeted with clapping by a section of BNP lawmakers in the House.

Earlier, replying to an almost similar question from Awami League lawmaker Abdus Shahid, the minister said that the government had no control on the prices of imported items.

The minister also replied to questions on export and import, shrimp cultivation and Indo-Bangla trade gap. Khosru left the House immediately after the question-answer hour ended.

After a two-day recess, the parliament session resumed yesterday at 5.10pm, more than half an hour behind the schedule, with Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar in the chair.