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BNP may go for long boycott of Sangsad again

Shakhawat Liton
The BNP-led opposition lawmakers may opt for another round of long House boycott, some BNP leaders gave this indication yesterday, a day after boycotting the last sitting oftheparliament's 12th session.
Ending the third round boycott of the ninth parliament, the opposition returned to the House on March 18. They had stayed away for 77 consecutive sittings in almost an entire year.
They did not attend parliament proceeding Thursday. They stayed away demanding that the Speaker expunge from parliament proceedings "objectionable" remarks of the treasury bench, including those of the prime minister, on Pakistani spy agency ISI's alleged funding of BNP They even questioned the Speaker's neutrality.
Some insiders in the opposition camp fear that the way the political situation is changing, the BNP may gradually switch over to the hardline position. In the extreme case, the opposition might return to the House just once before the ninth parliament's tenure expires on January24,2014.
The opposition insiders alleged that the government restricted BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s movement. They said she was obstructed in the early morning of March 26 on her way to the National Memorial in Savar and she was not allowed to attend a book launching programme on March 27.
"The government's attitudes towards the opposition leader forced us to boycott the last sitting of the parliament's 12th session," a BNP MP yesterday told The Daily Star requesting anonymity.
He said if the situation deteriorates the opposition deputies would not return to the House.
"If the government does not change its position, opposition MPs' joining parliament will not yield any good result,11 said MKAnwar, a member of BNP national standing committee, when asked if the opposition would go for another round of parliament boycott.
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Anwar, a BNP MP and former minister, said they want to join the parliament to make it effective. "But the way the prime minister and her party MPs keep attacking the opposition proves that they do not want to make the House effective."
Mahbubur Rahman, a member of BNP national standing committee, echoed the same view.
"We are seeking a fair political atmosphere. Discussion will take place in parliament to resolve problems. But we are very sorry to say that the government is not sincere in allowing the opposition to play its due role in parliament," Mahbub told The Daily Star.
Citing the BNP's demand for expunging the remarks on alleged ISI funding of BNP in 1991 parliamentary polls, he said the demand is
very rational as the then ISI chief denied funding the BNP
The opposition leaders also questioned the Speaker's neutrality and criticised his Thursday's speech. The Speaker on Thursday blasted the opposition leader for not placing any proposal in parliament outlining the caretaker government system she wants.
"The Speaker overreacted. It seemed it was not the Speaker, rather an Awami League MP was speaking," said Andaleeve Rahman Partha, chief of Bangladesh Jatiya Party, a component of BNP-led alliance.
Asked if the opposition would return to the House in the next session, Partha said, "Let's see what happens before the next session."
Returning to the House on March 18, the opposition deputies avoided losing their memberships in parliament on grounds of remaining absent for 90 consecutive sittings, the party leaders and MPs said.
If the opposition parties go for another round of House boycott, their deputies would be able to stay away from parliament proceedings for around a year until March or April next year before risking membership again.
And if that be the case, then opposition MPs might need to return to the House once to save their memberships before the tenure of the current parliament
expires on January24,2014.
The BNP-led opposition lawmakers, who joined the inaugural sitting of the current parliament, opted for boycotting the House in phases. First, they started to keep away from House proceedings in June 2009 and continued the boycott till February2010.
Having remained absent for 64 consecutive sittings, they returned to parliament onFebruaryl0,2010.
A fresh boycott began in June 2010 and it did not end until March 16, 2011, by which time the opposition had been away from the House for 74 consecutive sittings. They then stormed out of parliament on March 24 and returned to the House on March 18 this year.