Shafiqur calls for 'people's parliament', equitable resource distribution, tougher anti-graft drive

Highlights:

• He criticises passage of budget and key bills without adequate debate.
• Urges tougher anti-graft drive and exemplary punishment for corrupt individuals.
• Seeks special assistance for flood-hit families and an integrated plan for Dhaka's waterlogging.

Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman today (15 July) called for the Jatiya Sangsad to become a "meeting place of the oppressed and ordinary people," urging equitable distribution of state resources, an end to wasteful public spending, stricter action against corruption and a more effective, participatory parliament.

Speaking at the closing sitting of parliament's second session, chaired by Deputy Speaker Kaiser Kamal, he said a rules-based parliament would restore public confidence and encourage greater participation in nation-building. He also urged the Speaker to strengthen enforcement of parliamentary rules and procedures.

Shafiqur criticised the passage of the budget and major bills without adequate debate, saying the opposition was denied meaningful participation in deliberations on a recent bill important for national interests, employment and job creation. He warned that excluding the opposition would reduce parliament to "a waste of public time and money."

He expressed condolences over recent deaths from floods, landslides and drowning, noting that four divisions were badly affected, with Chattogram suffering the greatest damage. He urged the prime minister and finance minister to provide special financial assistance to affected and bereaved families, expressing hope that the finance minister, a son of Chattogram, would give the disaster special attention.

The opposition leader also criticised Dhaka's chronic waterlogging and poor drainage, saying even light rain submerges the capital in polluted water that often contaminates drinking water lines. Calling Dhaka the country's "face," he demanded a special budget allocation and implementation of an integrated master plan to transform the capital into an attractive city.

Welcoming higher budget allocations for education and healthcare, he called for greater priority for primary and higher education, moral and religious education for students of all faiths from the primary level, recruitment of religious teachers in primary schools and greater support for independent madrasas. He also urged the government to end politically motivated MPO enlistment of educational institutions and adopt merit-based selection instead.

Alleging discrimination in development spending, Shafiqur said opposition MPs had been excluded from government allocations while ruling party lawmakers from reserved seats received substantial funding. Citing the BNP's 31-point reform agenda and election manifesto, he urged the prime minister to ensure political bias does not deprive citizens of their rightful share of development.

He also called for an end to installing politicians' name plaques on publicly funded projects, saying replacing them after changes of government wastes hundreds of crores of taka.

Describing corruption as one of the country's biggest challenges, Shafiqur urged exemplary punishment for corrupt individuals, saying they should be "handcuffed" to deter future looting of public wealth.

He thanked the prime minister in advance for approving the establishment of a July Memorial Museum to preserve the legacy of the July Revolution and student-led mass uprising, and demanded a special bonus equivalent to one month's basic salary for parliament secretariat officials and employees.