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Reform electoral system to make JS effective

Urge speakers at roundtable

STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Rajshahi
Dominance of non-politician businessmen in the Jatiya Sangsad, the speaker's bias and corrupt politics have made the parliament 'a nonfunctional institution in the country', speakers at a roundtable observed yesterday.
They said lawmakers who spend
crores on elections cannot just do away with crime and corruption overnight, as they want to recover the money spent on election and be on the side of the corrupt people who helped them to win ballots.
The roundtable observed that the opposition has no trust in the speaker and was critical of the opposition for staying off the house ignoring their
promise to address people's problems.
It recommended reforms to the electoral system to make way for career politicians to assume greater importance in national politics and framing of laws to force the speaker to run the House proceedings impartially. It also suggested measures to
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improve qualities of the politicians including making the people more knowledgeable about politics.
Rajshahi Concerned Citizens' Committee (RCCC) and Transparency International Bangladesh co-organised the roundtable on "Parliament: Our hopes and Achievements" at Parjatan Motel. The slogan of the roundtable was, 'We want an effective parliament and accountable government'.
Former caretaker government adviser and TIB Trustee Board Member M Hafiz Uddin Khan attended the roundtable as chief guest. RCCC Convenor Advocate Golam Arif Tipu chaired the function moderated by TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman.
TIB Research Officer Abdul Alim presented a report of ParliamentWatch published in Dhaka on March 1. The TIB report said the parliament failed to ensure the government's accountability, parliamentary standing committees on different ministries could not play an effective role, severe quorum crisis wasted Tk 5 crore of Tk 22.11 crore spent on running four sessions last year, lawmakers discussed irrelevant issues, hailed party leaders and criticised opponents 1,565 times and lawmakers of the main opposition were absent from parliament on 48 out of 83 days.
Former Rajshahi University vicechancellors (VC) Prof Abdul Khaleque, Prof Saidur Rahman Khan, eminent litterateur Hasan Azizul Haque, economist Prof Sanat Kumar Shaha, political scientist Prof Zaglul Haider Chowdhury, former VC of Open University and Islami University Prof Kayes Uddin, Rajshahi University Teachers' Association President Nazrul Islam, Rajshahi Mohila Parishad President Abid Raihan Buli, engineers Tajul Islam and Lutfar Rahman, politician Enamul Haque, former Rajshahi City mayor Abdul Hadi, former Atomic Medical Center director Dr Rustom Uddin Ahmed, Rajshahi Traders' Alliance Convenor Mosharraf Hossain Akhujee and journalists Liaquat Ali, Mustafijur Rahman and Zahangir Alam Akash, among others, spoke.
M Hafiz Uddin Khan said no parliament since the country's birth could live up to people's hopes or had even tried to do so. "We have to ensure people's right to know about the candidates' personal and financial background before elections and the elected candidates must fulfil their promises ".
"The speaker should quit his party and there should be laws to protect neutral speakers from the wrath of the rulers," he noted and asked for quality among parliamentarians.