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Published : 30 Apr 2026, 01:24 PM
Two amendment bills have been passed in parliament to lift the age limits for the posts of chairman and member at the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA).
The National Citizen Party (NCP) has raised concerns about the bills, saying it allows for influence peddling in the appointment process.
After the two bills were passed in the parliament session on Thursday under the chairmanship of Deputy Speaker Kayser Kamal, NCP MP Akhter Hossen expressed his concern.
In response, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury explained the reasoning for putting forward the bills.
The two bills passed are the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
Akhter said since the ruling party has a majority in parliament, they can pass laws if they want.
However, he alleged the content of the two bills was not sufficiently explained.
The NCP MP said, “The point is that the age restrictions of the Securities and Exchange Commission Act and the Insurance Corporation Act have been lifted.”
He said since the language of the bill is concise, it may seem like nothing much is happening, but in reality, the 65-year age limit for the chairman and members of the BSEC and the 67 years for the IDRA have been lifted.
Referring to the finance minister’s statement, Akhter said the government is saying the lifting of the age limit is intended to bring in qualified and skilled people.
However, he questioned whether this action is being taken on the basis of policy or whether it is being done with specific persons in mind.
He said, “If the age restrictions in this law are being lifted due to the consideration of some ‘special people’, like the appointment made at Bangladesh Bank, then it will be contradictory to when the honourable minister talked about skilled and qualified people.”
“If they are removing the age limit in order to install people according to their own wishes in a place like the stock market, it will completely ignore the concerns about age. No limit will be placed in the case of insurance corporations.”
Akhter said, “These are financial institutions. If, in future, an environment develops that allows the looting of the country’s financial resources, the government will have to take responsibility.”
The deputy speaker then allowed the finance minister to respond.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru then said he had already made clear why the two bills were brought.
His argument was that when the law was made in 1993, the average age and the reality of working life were different.
He said, “When this bill was passed in 1993, the average age of the Securities and Exchange Commission was 57 years old... Now the average age is 72 years old. Do you want to remove these people from their work? Do you want to keep these citizens of Bangladesh, these experienced people, out of work?”
“In almost every country in the world where the Securities Exchange Commission is operating successfully, there is no age bar. They are running them successfully.”
According to him, setting an age limit in professional institutions creates barriers to the work of qualified people. The same logic applies to the insurance sector.
The finance minister said, “This is not a matter of feeling. This is a professional job and if an economy is to be run professionally, this change has to be brought about in Bangladesh.”
Then, Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman said due to time constraints, the opposition could not fully exercise their rights in the enactment of many previous laws, and the situation was similar in the case of these bills. He alleged that the rights of the opposition have been curtailed.
Shafiqur said the government’s recent steps have gone against the wishes of the people.
Citing the appointment of the governor of Bangladesh Bank, he questioned how the country could progress if appointments based on merit are decided in such a way.
The opposition leader said, “We cannot know their intentions. That is a matter of their mind... We can only see how their expression and implementation is reflected in society.”
In response, the finance minister said, though such discussions after bills are passed are outside the rules of procedure, he is still answering questions because they have been raised.
He claimed that during the BNP governments, all appointments to Bangladesh Bank and BSEC were “apolitical”.
He said, “BNP’s appointments have never been made based on political considerations and have always been given to qualified persons. This government will continue that trend.”
At the same time, he said, the prime minister has decided: “No political figure will be given an appointment in the financial sector.”
Deputy Leader of the Opposition Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher later said if the prime minister had made such a decision, the opposition would welcome it.
However, he knows that the current Bangladesh Bank governor had a political affiliation and the “confusion” about the issue should be cleared up.
He said that if it is true that the governor was a member of the BNP’s election management committee, then a new governor should be appointed in his place in light of the prime minister’s announced policy.
The speaker then asked the finance minister whether being on the election management committee meant someone had a political affiliation.
In response, the finance minister said, “Supporting a party does not necessarily mean being a member of that party.”
He said election campaigns are major efforts and require support from many people.
This does not necessarily mean that those individuals are members of the party, but simply supporters, he added.
