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The opening day of the third session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad was marred by an uproar on Thursday after opposition lawmakers protested remarks by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed during the question-answer session.
The protest disrupted parliamentary proceedings for about 10 minutes, with several opposition lawmakers standing and shouting in objection. Although Salahuddin later withdrew the remarks, the commotion continued for some time.
Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad repeatedly urged the lawmakers to return to their seats and maintain order, warning that Parliament could not function effectively if members failed to follow its Rules of Procedure.
The incident began when Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Md Shafiqul Islam Masud, while asking a supplementary question, raised concerns over snatching incidents, attacks on lawmakers and the alleged arrest of opposition leaders and activists in false cases.
He also questioned why accused persons in cases involving attacks on opposition members were not being arrested.
Salahuddin initially said he had not heard the first part of Masud’s question and asked him to repeat it.
After Masud repeated his question, the home minister responded, “Speaking at Shahbagh Square and speaking in Parliament are not the same thing.”
The remark immediately triggered protests from opposition lawmakers, many of whom stood up and began shouting.
Earlier, while responding to a question from National Citizen Party (NCP) lawmaker Hasnat Abdullah, Salahuddin had remarked, “I could not understand whether this is a question or a speech at Paltan.” Some lawmakers objected to the comment, but the reaction intensified after his response to Masud.
As the uproar grew, Salahuddin told the Speaker that he was seeking his protection and later withdrew the remarks.
However, opposition lawmakers continued their protest, at one point preventing the minister from being heard.
Speaker Hafiz Uddin repeatedly asked the lawmakers to sit down and listen to the minister.
He assured opposition members that they would be given opportunities to speak through their microphones rather than from their seats.
“This is not the Awami League’s time. Here you can criticise the government as much as you want. Please sit down and wait,” the Speaker said.
He also assured the opposition leader that he would be given the floor after the home minister finished speaking.
Salahuddin later resumed his statement, saying that questions about specific incidents of snatching and whether accused persons had been arrested should be raised with details rather than through general allegations.
The Speaker subsequently gave the floor to Opposition Leader Dr Shafiqur Rahman.
As some treasury bench lawmakers began making comments while Shafiqur was speaking, he objected, saying, “Will you give the speech, or will I? You give it.”
He accused the home minister of repeatedly belittling opposition lawmakers and demanded that Salahuddin apologise and that his remarks be removed from the parliamentary record.
“We did not come here to become his students. If he wants to teach, let him open a university,” Shafiqur said, referring to an earlier remark by the home minister.
He described the incident as “parliamentary fascism” and warned that the opposition would not continue sitting in the House if its members were subjected to humiliation.
Opposition lawmakers thumped their desks in support of their leader.
Later, Speaker Hafiz Uddin expressed concern over what he described as growing intolerance among lawmakers.
He said all members had been elected to reflect the hopes and aspirations of the people and stressed that Parliament could not function properly unless its rules were respected.
“I am deeply saddened to observe that I am increasingly noticing intolerance among some members,” he said.
The Speaker said Parliament would examine the home minister’s remarks and expunge any words deemed unparliamentary, if necessary.
At the same time, he urged lawmakers not to disrupt others’ freedom of speech by shouting from their seats.
“If anything wrong happens, we will protest,” Shafiqur said, stressing that the opposition wanted to work with the government for the country’s interests.
Later, after another lawmaker spoke on a point of order, the Speaker again expressed concern over the conduct of lawmakers.
“I am somewhat concerned about the future of Parliament. Today, I have observed attempts to prevent one another from speaking. This is not a good sign for Parliament,” he said.
Hafiz Uddin reminded lawmakers that democracy had been achieved through a long struggle and that every member had a responsibility to protect and strengthen it.