Leader of the Opposition Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Friday said opposition lawmakers remained largely silent during the passage of several bills in Parliament because they did not receive the necessary documents in time to review them properly.
Taking the floor on a point of order after the passage of a bill, he said many documents were provided while the session was already underway, leaving members with little or no opportunity to examine the proposals.
“Without understanding the contents, supporting or opposing a bill would be irresponsible,” he said, adding that members chose to remain silent rather than take uninformed positions.
He also noted that there had been a prior decision to place all 133 ordinances before parliament with sufficient time for review, but that process was not adequately followed.
Responding to the concerns, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the opposition had opportunities to raise objections during different stages of the legislative process, including the introduction and second reading of bills.
He added that a special parliamentary committee - comprising members from both treasury and opposition benches - had already reviewed the ordinances and reached consensus on many of them.
The minister further said opposition lawmakers were given extended time to speak and thanked them for their cooperation during the proceedings.
However, opposition lawmaker Md Rafiqul Islam Khan disputed the claim, saying issues raised by opposition members were not adequately addressed in the committee.
Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman said the government acted in line with constitutional requirements, noting that ordinances must be placed before parliament within 30 days.
Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad acknowledged the difficulty of reviewing documents at the last moment and assured that efforts would be made to provide bills to lawmakers in advance in the future.
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