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AL MPs siege speaker's room, show black flags

Boycott JS session

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The Jatiya Sangsad yesterday adopted an obituary reference on the main opposition Awami League (AL) lawmaker Shah ASM Kibria amid a boycott by the AL deputies and protests by the opposition parties in and outside the House.
The AL boycotted the first sitting of the year as the speaker turned down its demand for adjournment of yesterday's sitting deferring the presidential address. The other opposition parties who joined the House also protested it on the floor.
The AL lawmakers wearing black badges and holding black flags staged a one and a half-hour sit-in in front of the speaker's chamber. The slogan shouting main opposition deputies blasted the speaker's decision during the sit-in.
The unprecedented demonstration kept Speaker Jamir Uddin Sircar confined at his office for an hour and he could not conduct the House after the Magrib break. In his absence, Deputy Speaker Akhter Hamid Siddiqui took seat after the break.
The speaker later used the
emergency door to enter the
House.
Participating in the discussion
on the obituary reference, the
Jatiya Party (Ershad) and Krishak Sramik Janata League lawmakers also castigated the speaker's decision not to defer the presidential address to the second day.
Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in her brief speech on the reference reiterated her government position to nab the criminals responsible for the grenade attack on an AL rally in Habiganj that killed the former finance minister and four others.
"I am again assuring the bereaved family that we will identify the criminals and bring them to book. There will be no lapses in the investigation," she said. Khaleda sought co-operation of all in identifying the perpetrators behind the grisly attack.
Both ruling and the opposition lawmakers condemned the attack urging the government to initiate all-out measures to identify the criminals through investigation.
"Democracy would be jeopardized if the criminals behind the frequent grenade attacks are not nabbed," BNP lawmaker KM Obaidur Rahman said participating in the discussion.
Terming the assassination of Kibria a 'political killing', Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman said they are shocked at the killing.
Abdul Kader Siddiqui of Krishak Sramik Janata League criticised the speaker's decision not to adjourn the House after the obituary reference, deferring the presidential address to the second day, as a mark of respect to the slain lawmaker.
He said there is no obligation in the constitution that the presidential address must be delivered at the first sitting of the session. "The constitution will not be torn if the president addresses on the second day."
Echoing him, Jatiya Party lawmaker Dr TIM Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury said, "Nobody would object to the speaker's decision if the presidential address was deferred to the next day to create the opportunity for all to join the obituary reference."
Referring to the killing of Kibria in the grenade attack, he said the nation has become hostage to the criminal activities.
Rabbi and other Jatiya Party lawmakers, however, boycotted the presidential address in protest against the speaker's decision.
At the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (Bac) before the sitting, the main opposition raised the demand for adjournment of the sitting after the adoption of the obituary reference. But the speaker and the ruling parties opposed it saying the constitution will be violated if the presidential address is deferred.
The speaker however adjourned the House for half an hour after the adoption of the obituary reference to show respect to late Kibria. But the obituary reference did not mentioned how Kibria has died. It just said ".... Kibria died in Dhaka on January 27, 2005."
The names of former Palestine president Yasser Arafat and few others former lawmakers were included in the obituary reference.
After the half an hour adjournment, President Iajuddin Ahmed addressed in parliament.
The Bac decided that the session will continue till March 15 with a seven days recess from today. The session will resume on February 8.
AL PROCESSION TO JS
The AL lawmakers gathered at Russell Square in Dhanmondi and began to march towards the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban at about 3:30pm. Large number of riot police escorted the procession until it reached the Sangsad Bhaban's main entrance.
During the gathering at Russell Square, the police prevented all types of vehicles including rickshaws from plying on the Mirpur Road -- from Kalabagan to Asadgate. The number of vehicles was, however, very thin due to hartal
The police also put a barbed wire barricade near the Road No 27 of Dhanmondi to allow only the lawmakers to march towards the Sangsad Bhaban.
Carrying black flags and wearing black badges, the AL lawmakers entered the Sangsad Bhaban at about 4:00pm. They chanted antigovernment slogans at that time.
IN FRONT OF SPEAKER'S CHAMBER
As the speaker went to his chamber during the Magrib break, the AL lawmakers gathered in front of the chamber and raised slogans against him. They staged demonstration there for over an hour and kept the speaker confined.
Security personnel of the speaker's office, police and intelligence men were deployed there to avert any untoward incident.
Speaking in front of the chamber, AL lawmaker Shahjahan Khan said, "We are deprived of the opportunity to take part the discussion on the obituary reference on Shah AMS Kibria and for this we are holding this mourning rally here."
"The speaker has lost the moral right to the chair. I am charging you (speaker) and the prime minister for collaborating with the killers of Kibria," Suranjit
Sengupta said. "He has been serving the ruling parties."
AKM Jahangir Hossain said the speaker has failed to act as the guardian of lawmakers as he did not went to see late Kibria at the hospital or at his house. "Moreover, he made a mockery in the name of holding a janaja at the south plaza of the Sangsad Bhaban."
During the demonstration, the AL deputies blamed the government for the killing.
They also prevented deputy speaker from entering the speaker's chamber.
WALKOUT FROM BAC MEETING
The AL members walked out from a meeting of the Bac before the sitting in protest against the speaker's refusal to meet their demand of adjourning the House after the obituary reference and deferring the president's speech for another day.
They did not join the House to boycott the speech and said they would take a decision later whether the party will join the House or boycott it.
Staging the walkout, the AL deputies alleged that intervention of the prime minister (PM) and law minister in the name of violation of the constitution has deprived them of taking part in the discussion on the obituary reference on Kibria.
Briefing the newsmen, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Abdul Hamid said the PM, speaker and law minister have misinterpreted the constitution as there is no constitutional bar on delivering the presidential speech on another day.
Opposition Chief Whip Abdus Shahid alleged that the PM had misbehaved with him at the Bac meeting. "She (PM) asked me to stop when I was speaking about the government negligence to help in the emergency treatment of Shah AMS Kibria," Shahid said.
"Stop this. you are lying," the opposition chief whip quoted the PM as saying.
"She claimed that the government was ready to provide a helicopter to bring critically injured Kibria to Dhaka, but Awami League leaders refused it," Shahid said. "But she could not say whom the government had contacted in this regard."