Home Minister’s Remarks Trigger Uproar in Parliament

The opening day of the third session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad was disrupted for around 10 minutes on Thursday after opposition lawmakers protested remarks made by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed during the question-answer session.

The opposition members stood and shouted in protest, forcing the proceedings into disorder. Although the home minister later withdrew his remarks, the protest continued for some time.

Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad repeatedly urged the lawmakers to return to their seats and maintain order, warning that Parliament could not function effectively unless members followed the Rules of Procedure.

The incident began when Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Md Shafiqul Islam Masud raised concerns about the law and order situation, including snatching incidents, attacks on lawmakers and the alleged arrest of opposition leaders and activists in false cases.

Masud also questioned why accused persons in cases involving attacks on opposition members had not been arrested.

Initially, Salahuddin said he had missed the first part of the question and asked Masud to repeat it.

After Masud repeated the question, the minister said, “Speaking at Shahbagh Square and speaking in Parliament are not the same thing.”

The remark immediately drew protests from opposition lawmakers, many of whom stood up and began shouting.

Earlier, while responding to a question from National Citizen Party lawmaker Hasnat Abdullah, Salahuddin had said he could not understand whether the question was actually a question or a speech delivered at Paltan. Some lawmakers had objected to that comment as well.

As the uproar intensified, the home minister told the Speaker that he was seeking his protection and later withdrew his remarks.

The opposition, however, continued protesting and demanded that the minister apologise and that his remarks be removed from the parliamentary record.

Speaker Hafiz Uddin repeatedly asked lawmakers to remain seated and listen to the minister. He assured opposition members that they would be given opportunities to speak through their microphones.

“This is not the Awami League’s time. Here you can criticise the government as much as you want. Please sit down and wait,” the Speaker said.

He also assured Opposition Leader Dr Shafiqur Rahman that he would be given the floor after the home minister completed his statement.

Salahuddin later resumed his response, saying that questions about specific snatching incidents and whether accused persons had been arrested should be raised with details rather than through general allegations.

The Speaker subsequently gave the floor to Shafiqur.

As some treasury bench lawmakers made comments while he was speaking, Shafiqur objected and demanded an apology from the home minister as well as the removal of his remarks from the parliamentary record.

He accused Salahuddin of repeatedly belittling opposition lawmakers and said the opposition would not accept such treatment.

Opposition lawmakers thumped their desks in support of their leader.

Later, Speaker Hafiz Uddin expressed concern over what he described as growing intolerance among lawmakers.

He said all members had been elected to represent the hopes and aspirations of the people and stressed that Parliament could not function properly unless its rules were respected.

The Speaker said he would review the home minister’s remarks and remove any words deemed unparliamentary from the parliamentary record.

He also urged lawmakers not to disrupt others’ freedom of speech by shouting from their seats.

“I am somewhat concerned about the future of Parliament. Today, I have observed attempts to prevent one another from speaking. This is not a good sign for Parliament,” he said.

The Speaker reminded lawmakers that democracy had been achieved through a long struggle and that every member had a responsibility to protect and strengthen it.