Jatiya Party MPs sworn in to parliament, Ershad to take oath later

Newly-elected Jatiya Party MPs took their oaths of office while party chairman HM Ershad was absent from the ceremony on Thursday.

Twenty-one Jatiya Party MPs participated in the oath-taking ceremony in parliament around 12:15 pm with Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury administering their oaths.

Ershad, who won at Rangpur-3 with the ‘plough’ symbol, was unable to attend the ceremony due to ‘illness’, said Jatiya Party officials.

However, the office of the parliament secretariat later said that Ershad will take his oath at the speaker’s office at 3pm on Thursday.

The Jatiya Party’s oath-taking ceremony was attended by Ershad’s wife and senior co-chairman of the party, Raushon Ershad, who won the Mymensingh-4 seat in the national polls.

Raushon Ershad, the leader of the main opposition in the 10th national parliament, had been away from party activities for some time.

Raushon was seated alongside party Co-Chairman and Ershad’s brother GM Quader, Jatiya Party Secretary General Moshiur Rahman Ranga and presidium members Anisul Islam Mahmud, Syed Abu Hossain Babla and Kazi Firoz Rashid.

GM Quader was elected to parliament from the Lalmonirhat-3 constituency while Moshiur Rahman Ranga won the Rangpur-3 seat in the national election on Dec 30.

On Wednesday, Jatiya Party Secretary General Moshiur Rahman Ranga told a media briefing that the party’s parliamentary committee would meet after the oath-taking ceremony on Thursday.

The committee will decide whether the party will remain as the main opposition and if so, decide on its leader in parliament.

The meeting will also decide whether the Jatiya Party members will participate in the Grand Alliance government’s cabinet.

The Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad has been absent from party activities for quite some time due to health issues.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ershad said that his brother GM Quader will act as the party’s chairman in his absence.

The ceremony was attended by newly-elected Jatiya Party MPs Rana Mohammad Sohel for Nilphamari-3, Ahsan Adilur Rahman for Nilphamari-4, Ponir Uddin Ahmed for Kurigram-2, Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary of Gaibandha-1, Shariful Islam Jinnah of Bogra-2, Nasrin Jahan Ratna of Barisal-6, Rustom Ali Farazi of Pirojpur-3, Fakhrul Imam of Mymensingh-8, Mujibul Haque Chunnu of Kishoreganj-3 and Liakat Hossain of Narayanganj-3.

Salim Osman of Narayanganj-5, Pir Fazlur Rahman Mezbah of Sunamganj-4, Masud Uddin Chowdhury of Feni-3, Nurul Islam Talukder of Bogra-3 and Golam Kibria Tipu of Barisal-3 were also present.