Staff Reporter :
Ending all speculations the other four Members of Parliament elected with the BNP ticket for the December 30’s 11th National Election took oath on Monday. Speaker of the Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury administered the swearing-in at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban at 5:45pm.
The four MPs are Harun Or Rashid from Chapainwabganj-3, Aminul Islam
from Chapainwabganj-2, Ukil Abdus Sattar from Brahmanbaria-2 and Mosharraf Hossain from Bogura-4 parliamentary constituencies.
Earlier on April 25, Zahidur Rahman from Thakurgaon-3 constituency, took oath as MP in a surprise move against the party’s decision of not joining parliament.
Meanwhile, the four MPs claimed that they took the oath after obtaining instruction from BNP’s Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman. Ukil Abdus Sattar said, “I have talked with BNP’s Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman through video conference. He told us to take oath.”
Meanwhile, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir who was also electeded as MP from Bogra-6 sought more time to the Speaker for taking oath, BNP sources said.
Harun Or Rashid said, they took the oath with the consent of the party leaders.
“We were in under government’s pressure and waited for our party’s decision. We took the oath after confirmation of our party,” Harun Or Rashid said.
He also said, “We will attend the Parliament session regularly and press home our demand for reelection and release of Begum Khaleda Zia.”
“The incumbent government is not elected by the people. The December 30 election was a farcical one. BNP rejected it because AL demolished the democracy in the country. We could not take the oath if Tarique Rahman did not order us,” he said.
Asked about the legacy of the current Parliament he said, “We did not come to give any legacy of the Parliament. Disappearance and killing continue in the country. There is no role of law also. We will deliver our lectures in the Parliament as the voice of the 17cr people.”
Of the 300 candidates elected to the 11th parliament, 299 have now been sworn in, the Parliament Secretariat said.
Prior to Zahidur, the two Gono Forum lawmakers-elect Sultan Mohammad Monsur Ahmed and Mokabbir Khan took oath.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee sat in a meeting with party lawmakers-elect at the jailed BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office in Dhaka Sunday evening.
The highest policymaking body of the party held the meeting as several top BNP leaders, including secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamghir, also a lawmaker-elect, alleged that the BNP lawmakers-elect were under government pressure to join the parliament, party leaders said.
The BNP won only six seats in the December 30 polls. The Jatiya Oikya Front alliance led by the BNP bagged a total of eight seats, with Gono Forum winning two.
An MP-elect must take oath within 90 days of the first sitting of parliament, according to the constitution. Accordingly, the deadline for taking oath for the MPs-elect was April 29.
