Two bills were placed in parliament yesterday seeking to enact laws for continuation of the three public limited companies, including Bangladesh Biman Airlines and BangladeshTelegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB), formed by the immediate past caretaker government.

Five other bills were also put before parliament seeking to enact new laws on separation of the judiciary from the executive, Human Rights Commission, protection of consumers' rights, Gram Sarkar and providing Supreme Court's judges with recreation and dearness allowances.

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The ordinances promulgated by the immediate past caretaker government on the matters ceased to have effect on February 25, as those were not ratified in parliament within the timeframe as per the constitution.

Amid such circumstances, a total of seven bills were placed yesterday to keep in force the actions begun under the now defunct ordinances with retrospective effect from the date of their promulgation.

Meanwhile, BNP-led opposition lawmakers yesterday walked out of the House for not broadcasting die speech of the Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia live on Sunday on obituary reference over the deaths of army officers.

Post and Telecommunications Minister Raziuddin Ahmed Razu and Civil Aviation Minister GM Quader placed the bills to ensure smooth functioning of Bangladesh Biman, BTTB and Bangladesh Sub-Marine Cable Company limited (BSCCL) as public lim-ited companies (PIXis).

By promulgating the ordinances, the caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed turned the state run organisations - Biman and BTTB and Dhaka Electricity

Supply Authority (DESA)--into PLCs and also set up a new PLC named Bangladesh SubMarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL).

Earlier the state minister for power, energy and mineral resources placed a bill seeking to enact a law for continuation of activities of DESA as a PLC and the bill is now with die parliamentary standing committee of the respective ministry for scrutiny.

Law Minister Shafioue Ahmed placed three bills titled the Code of Criminal Procedure (amendment) Bill 2 0 0 9, Human Rights Commission Bill 2009 and the Supreme (hurt Judges (remuneration and privileges) (amendment) Bill 2009

LGRD and Cooperative Minister Syed Ashratul Islam placed the Gram Sarkar (re-peal) Bill 2009. The Supreme Court has already declared die Gram Sarkar Act 2003 unconstitutional and the caretaker government also repealed the act in an ordinance The bill sought enactment of the ordinance that repealed the Gram Sarkar Act, enacted by the past BNP- led alliance government

Commerce Minister Lt. Col (retd) Faruk Khan placed the Consumers' Rights Protection

Bill 2009 to ensure transparency in selling, distribution and hoarding of essential commodities to save consumers from unscrupulous traders.

All the seven bills were sent to the parliamentary standing committees of respective ministries concerned to place reports in parliament on scrutiny.

WALKOUT

Opposition lawmakers walked out of the House for not broadcasting the speech of the Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia live on Sunday on obituary reference over the deaths of army officers.

After the question-answer session ended Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque took the floor and said die state-run BTV broadcast the speech of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina live but it did otherwise in case of Khaleda Zia.

The oath-taking ceremony of the opposition lawmakers on January 15 also did not go out live on the BTV, Zainul told the House.

" I he speaker admonished the BTV for not broadcasting fhe oath taking ceremony but still they did not bother to pay heed to the speaker's warn, Zainul said.

As soon as his speech was over the opposition members of parliament (MP) staged the walkout.

As the opposition MPs stormed out of the Jatiya Sangsad Chief Whip Abdus Shahid castigated them for the walkout.

The opposition lawmakers, however, returned to the parliamentary proceedings after Magrib break

Khaleda Zia was not present in the House yesterday. KHALEDA CONDEMNS GOVT

Opposition leader Khaleda Zia has strongly condemned the government's 'narrow mentality' manifested by its stopping broadcast live of her speech in Sarliament by the state-owned

TVSunday night.

She told newsmen at her Gulshan office last night that it proved that the government wants to make parliament dysfunctional and hamper democracy.

She said by preventing telecast of her speech the government exposed the weakness that it had no logic to refute the points she raised on the

tragic and barbaric killing of Army officers in BDR headquarters.