Opposition MPs from the BNP have joined Parliament a day after it officially responded to the Prime Minister's offer of an all-party election-time government.
Published : 23 Oct 2013, 06:04 PM
Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar led the MPs to the House just after PM Sheikh Hasina attended her regular question-answer session on Wednesday.
Mps from the BNP-led 18-party alliance partners- Jamaat-e-Islami, BJP and LDP also accompanied their coalition members.
The opposition chief, however, refrained from joining Parliament.
Earlier, BNP Chief Whip Zainal Abedin Farroque informed journalists about the decision after holding a meeting with his colleagues at the Opposition Leader"s room in the Parliament.
The Parliament session resumed at 4:40pm after a 13-day break. Proceedings began with the Prime Minister answering questions.
An hour earlier, the Parliament Business Advisory Committee decided to extend the session till Nov 7.
Opposition Chief Whip Zainal Abedin Farruque had said earlier that BNP's decision to join Parliament would depend in turn on the Business Advisory Committee"s decision.
The last time the opposition attended the House was on Jul 14.
Khaleda Zia rejected the Prime Minister's all-party interim government offer on Monday, two days after it was made. The same day Khaleda offered her own version of an 11-strong election-time government to be composed of Advisors to caretaker governments of 1996 and 2001.
The party's acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in a letter to his counterpart AL's Syed Ashraful Islam on Tuesday called for a dialogue over the interim government.
On Tuesday night, BNP chief Khaleda discussed the issue of joining the Parliament with party leaders at her Gulshan office. The meeting was adjourned without reaching any decision.
The meeting resumed at 4pm on Wednesday, chaired by Jamiruddin Sircar.