Many elected MPs through loopholes: Speaker
Speaker of the National Parliament Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram said that the National Parliament will become more glorious through the activities of the media. I hope that the people of the country will increase their trust in the Parliament. The people of Bangladesh have been waiting for such a Parliament for a long time. We have not had such an effective Parliament in 17 years.
The Speaker said, ‘We have not had such an effective Parliament in 17 years. I have been elected as a member of several Parliaments. Especially, I am ashamed to say that I was a Member of Parliament during the tenure of Hossain Muhammad Ershad. I have seen many times on television, heard on the radio that one person was elected from this area, two days later I saw another. I saw another person when I came to Parliament.’ ‘Many have been elected MPs through loopholes.’
He said these things while speaking as the chief guest at the ‘Fruit Festival-2026’ program organized by the Bangladesh Parliament Journalists Association (BPJA) at the Journalists Lounge of the National Parliament today, Wednesday (June 24).
He said, “After such a long time of such a farce parliament, we have now got a real parliament. I saw a good parliament in 1991, and this parliament too. This time, very free and fair elections have been held. Many people have been elected here on their own merits, who did not have much political experience.” The Speaker further said, “Looking at the pattern of voting, it seems that the common people want to see a change. People were not satisfied with the kind of parliament we saw in the past and the activities of the MPs. People want a real parliament. As elected members of this parliament, our responsibility is much greater than before. We have to serve the people.” He expressed hope and said, “The common people should also enjoy the fruit festival that we are all enjoying and their mentality should be the same.” Deputy Speaker Barrister Kaiser Kamal said at the event that the parliament should be established as the center of everything in the country and the cooperation of BPJA is needed in this regard. He said, “The democracy of the country should be institutionalized in the true sense. Everyone’s cooperation is needed so that the parliament can work for the welfare of the people.”
He also said that such events create a bond between journalists and members of parliament. Kaiser Kamal further commented that journalists can play an important role in institutionalizing democracy. Chief Whip of the National Assembly Md. Nurul Islam Moni said that mutual goodwill, harmony and good relations will be further strengthened through the fruit festival. At the same time, he expressed the hope that the pens of journalists will be further strengthened. The Chief Whip said, “Journalists will continue to cooperate in all necessary initiatives to bring the parliament closer to the people.” The fruit festival was attended by the government party’s whip GK Gaus, Mia Nuruddin Ahmed Apu, Akhtaruzzaman Mia, ABM Ashraf Uddin (Nijan), the opposition party’s chief whip Nahid Islam, BNP MP Sheikh Farid Ahmed Manik, Jamaat MPs Barrister Mohammad Nazibur Rahman, Rashedul Islam Rashed, Salah Uddin, Secretary of the National Assembly Barrister Md. Golam Sarwar Bhuiyan, Chief Information Officer. Government Syed Abdal Ahmed, M Abdullah, Mostafa Kamal Majumder, Bashir Jamal, Ashish Saikat, Zahed Chowdhury, Amirul Islam Kagoji, Alfaz Anam, Sultan Mahmud, Ilyas Hossain, Kamran Reza Chowdhury, Riaz Ahmed, Nafiza Daula, Nikhil Bhadra and others.
The program was presided over by BPJA President Harun Jamil. The program was moderated by General Secretary Shawkat Ali Khan Litho. Also present were the organization’s Vice President Fayez Ullah Bhuiyan, Joint General Secretary Mizanur Rahman, Finance Secretary Md. Shahjahan Mollah, Office Secretary Nazmul Islam (Tanim Ahmed), Executive Member Mashiur Rahman, Monirul Islam and others.
