TIB criticises Jatiya Party’s ‘dual role’

The Jatiya Party has failed in and outside parliament for its 'dual role' as the opposition and part of the government, says Transparency International Bangladesh or TIB.

"The party's role is in a questionable state for this dual stance," the Bangladesh chapter of the Berlin-based corruption watchdog has observed in its Parliament Watch report that covered seventh to 13th sessions of the House.

The report, which is the third on the 10th parliament and 13th since the research started in 2001, says the presence of MPs has increased in these seven sessions, but the quorum crisis is still there, causing a waste of more than Tk 470 million in this period.

TIB Programme Manager Juliet Rosetti and Assistant Programme Manager Amit Sarker presented the key points of the report at a press conference in its Dhaka office on Sunday.

TIB thinks the dual role played by Jatiya Party in the three years of the 10th parliament have put it in a questionable state.

With the BNP outside parliament after its boycott of the 2014 election, Jatiya Party is the main opposition in parliament. It also has its leaders as ministers in government. For playing the role both in government and opposition, the BNP terms Jatiya Party 'Domesticated Opposition'.

Jatiya Party Senior Co-Chairman Raushon Ershad is the leader of the opposition in parliament, while her husband HM Ershad, the chairman, is the prime minister's special envoy. The party has three of its leaders in the cabinet.

The TIB report says the use of unparliamentary language by the Jatiya Party leaders along with the ruling party MPs to criticise the alliance outside parliament was notable.

It said the MPs used language that is contrary to parliamentary norms and practices.

They used such language in 15 percent of the total time of the seven sessions, according to the report.

The TIB said the speaker was silent when the MPs used such language.

The report says the Eighth and Ninth Parliaments saw the Opposition walking out frequently, but this did not happen in the 10th Parliament.

The fewer number walkouts than the previous Parliaments, however, does not indicate that the presence of the Opposition in the 10th Parliament was positive.

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman, speaking at the press conference, urged the Jatiya Party to shun the 'dual stance', considering the responsibilities it has as the public representative.

TIB Trustee Board Chairperson Sultana Kamal thinks the Jatiya Party should clear its stance to make Parliament more effective and to make its presence in Parliament more visible.

She also criticised absence of discussions in Parliament on deals signed in Bangladesh and abroad.

Waste for quorum crisis continues

According to the report, more than 48 hours was wasted due to quorum crisis in the seven sessions, which is 12 percent of the total time spent in these sessions. Around half an hour on an average was wasted on every working day, it adds.

Referring to estimated cost of conducting the sessions, the report also says an average of more than Tk 162,000 is needed per minute to conduct sessions. It means over Tk 472 million was spent for the wasted time in the seven sessions, with around Tk 4.55 million waste of money on every working day.

Comparing the eighth, ninth and 10th parliament, the TIB says average quorum crisis is gradually decreasing. The eighth parliament experienced 39 minutes of quorum crisis a day, ninth parliament 33 minutes and the 10th parliament 28 minutes.