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7 lawmakers decline to fly economy class

Julfikar Ali Manik and Shakhawat Liton
The parliament secretariat had to shell out $7,000 to upgrade seven lawmakers' air tickets to business class after they declined to fly economy class.
Satisfied at last, the delegation
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left Dhaka for Berlin last night.
Earlier, the German parliament had invited Speaker Abdul Hamid and a group of MPs to visit their country and sent economy class tickets for the invitees as per their rules.
The speaker opted not to be on the team, as only days are left before the Jatiya Sangsad goes into session. He instead picked seven lawmakers for the tour, which is part of an exchange . of parliamentary delegations. said parliament secretariat officials.
In February, a delegation from the Bundestag (German parliament) visited Dhaka. Their travel and other expenses were met by their legislature, which also offered an all-expenses-paid trip for the Bangladesh delegation, sources said.
But the seven-member team nominated for the tour said they would not go to Germany unless the tickets are upgraded, officials said.
At the insistence of the lawmakers, the parliament secretariat contacted the German embassy only to be told that their rules do not allow .spending taxpayers' money on business class airfares.
In the wake of this, the secretariat decided to foot the bill for business class tickets.
According to airline officials, usually an economy class return ticket costs $950 and a business class $ 1.970.
Awami League lawmaker (AL) ASM Firoz. who is leading the parliamentary delegation, yesterday told The Daily Star that they had the tickets upgraded, considering the long journey to the central European state.
“It shouldn't cost much to upgrade the tickets," observed Firoz, also a whip of the ninth parliament.
Queried, he however could not say exactly how much was spent to upgrade their seats.
The delegation head said the German government will bear all other expenses during their stay there from May 24 to May 29.
He said they would visit (he German parliament to gain insights into their proceedings, Besides, they will meet local business leaders and discuss ways to enhance the trade ties between the countries.
AL lawmaker Abdullah Al Islam Jacob and BNP lawmaker Rehana Akhtar Ranu however said they were not aware of the ticket upgrade.
“It doesn't matter to me ii I should fly business class or economy class," Jacob told The Daily Star.
The other members of the delegation are Al. lawmakers Atiur Rahman Atik, Abdullah Al Kaiser, Nazma Akhtar and Jatiya Party lawmaker Hossain Makbul Shahrier.
The whip's personal secretary and Jatiya Sangsad's sergeant-at-arms are also in the entourage. The two were however given economy class seats, parliament officials said.
The MPs enjoy VIP status and thus are entitled to business class airfares. In previous parliaments as well, the secretariat upgraded air tickets on several occasions, added the officials.