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Privileges of Sangsad

No law made in 4 decades

SHAKHAWAT LITON
Since coming into existence following the general elections of March 1973, the Jatiya Sangsad has not been able to formulate a law defining its own privileges and those of its members, thanks to the indifference of successive governments to the con-
stitutional provision to that end.
Several moves had been made to legislate on the privileges of parliament and its members, but the governments did not let those succeed, alleged some senior lawmakers while talking to The Daily Star recently.
Article 78 of the constitution pro-
vides parliament and its members with immunity regarding the House proceedings and their speeches and votes.
It says that the validity of parliamentary proceedings will not be questioned in any court and no lawmakers will be liable to proceedings in any court in respect of anything said, or any votes cast, by them in parliament or in any committees thereof.
And subject to Article 78, the House is supposed to enact a law delineating the privileges of the Jatiya Sangsad, its committees and members.
In the last four decades, the House has passed over 1,100 laws but could not enact a law in light of Article 78.
"We made several attempts to have an act determining the privileges. But every time the moves fell through," said the veteran Awami League lawmaker Suranjit Sengupta.
Workers Party chief Rashed Khan Menon, MP, said the executive wing of the state remains indifferent when it comes to laying down a law on the privileges. "It is a major weakness in the system of our parliamentary democracy."
Arguing the need for the formulation of the privileges act, Suranjit, a former railway minister, said parliament could not function without privileges and so parliaments all over the world had privileges.
"MPs cannot perform freely without privileges. Privileges here do not mean purchasing duty-free cars or holding red passports," he observed.
Jatiya Party lawmaker Mujibul Haque Chunnu said the privileges act was a must, and his party would raise the issue in the House.
It may be pointed out that soon after liberation, the government, then headed by Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, issued the Constituent Assembly Order, 1972, determining the privileges of members of the then assembly.
But once the constitution had been framed, the Constituent Assembly Order was repealed. And Article 78 of the constitution speaks of the enactment of a new law to determine the privileges of the House, its members and committees.
Information available says that in 1980, during the tenure of the second parliament, the then government moved to enact a law to determine the privileges of MPs. The Members of Parliament (Exemption from Preventive Detention) Bill, 1980, was placed in parliament on June3,1980.
The bill was sent to the parliamentary standing committee on the law ministry for scrutiny and submission of a report to the House. But the committee did not come up with the scrutiny report during the tenure of the second parliament, and the bill was not passed.
Before the country's independence, in the Pakistan era, members of the national and provincial assemblies enjoyed some privileges under the Members of the National Assembly (Exemption from Preventive Detention and Personal Appearance) Ordinance, 1963, and the East Pakistan Assembly Members' Privileges Act, 1965.
According to the law, no member of the national assembly could be detained under any law relating to preventive detention during its session and for a period of 14 days before and 14 days after its session.
Members of the national and provincial assemblies would not be required to appear in person in any civil or revenue court or before any election tribunal during their sessions and for a certain period before and after that, according to the laws.