Parliament Secretariat declines to provide details of MPs’ attendance

The Parliament Secretariat has declined to provide the attendance records of MPs joining sessions.

bdnews24.com had, on Dec 17, written to the Secretariat, seeking, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the attendance records of the deputies between the first and eighth session of the tenth Parliament.

Almost four weeks later, the Secretariat responded. It cited a section of the 2009 Act to say the information could not be provided.

According to Section 7 (q) of the Right to Information Act, providing “information that may be prejudicial to the special rights of the House of the Nation” is not mandatory.

But, former information commissioner Sadeka Halim disagreed with the Secretariat.

Speaking to bdnews24.com, she said whatever immunity Section 7(q) gives to legislators relates to courts.

It had nothing to do with providing information about the members’ presence in Parliament, she said.

“When I was the information commissioner, there were many who sought information about the foreign tours of members of Parliament and members of the Secretariat. Even at that time there was a defer-and-delay ploy,” she said.

Professor Halim, who teaches social sciences at the Dhaka University, served as the information commissioner from 2009 to 2014.

She strongly feels the Parliament Secretariat cannot hold back information about the attendance of MPs.

Citizens, according to her, have a right to know about the presence of MPs in the proceedings.

“He or she (a Member of Parliament) is an elected representative and the taxpayers’ money funds all their needs. Their regularity is a sign of honesty.

“The very purpose of the Right to Information Act is to ensure clarity and accountability, and thus reduce corruption.

“Citizens deserve to know how many days an MP is present in Parliament," she said.

“If you wish to know from my departmental chairman if Sadeka Halim visited the department today or not, you have every right to do so.

“I earn my living as a teacher on taxpayers’ money," Halim said, adding that there was no conflict between the MPs’ special privileges and the Right to Information Act.

Another application was filed on Jan 13 after the Secretariat rebuffed the earlier one.

This time bdnews24.com sought a list of the privileges the Secretariat cited.

In response, a letter dated Jan 21 and signed by the senior joint secretary of the Law Section-1 of the Secretariat said, according to Article 78(5) of the Constitution, no law had yet been enacted on the special privileges of Parliament, the MPs or the various parliamentary committees.

The letter, however, added that clauses 1 to 4 of Article 78 mention some special privileges and responsibilities of the MPs.

In addition, rules 174, 175, 202, and 203 of the Rules of Procedure of Bangladesh Parliament, too, mention some special rights.

According to rule numbers 174 and 175, no MP can be arrested within the premises of Parliament without the consent of the Speaker.

Rules 202 and 203 concern MPs bearing witness to various committees.

Information Commissioner Nepal Chandra Sarkar told bdnews24.com: “If Parliament declines to provide any information, it has to furnish a valid reason. If a complaint is registered with the Commission concerned, we’ll look into it."