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Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) lawmaker Rumin Farhana has expressed outrage over what she described as verbal abuse by fellow lawmakers in Parliament, saying such behaviour was unacceptable and undermined the right to express dissenting views.
Referring to the parliamentary situation she faced the previous day, Farhana said she felt it was impossible to record a dissenting voice in the House.
“After I spoke, several lawmakers sitting around me abused me in obscene language. This does not fall within any parliamentary norms or etiquette,” she said.
Farhana made the remarks on Thursday (September 10) while taking part in a discussion on a proposal to send the Armed Police Battalions (APBN) Bill, 2026 to a committee for scrutiny and public opinion.
She said Parliament should accommodate different views, with members of the government, opposition and independents having the right to express their opinions freely.
“If there was anything to counter what I said, it could have been said by standing up and speaking after I finished. But abusing me after my speech is not parliamentary conduct,” she said.
Recalling her previous parliamentary experience, Farhana said she had faced similar situations when she was the lone BNP lawmaker in the 2018 Parliament.
She warned that if there was no meaningful change in parliamentary culture despite the sacrifices made to establish an elected Parliament, opposition lawmakers should not be reduced to merely voting against government bills.
Turning to the proposed Special Response Battalion (SRB), Farhana warned that the new force must not become a rebranded version of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) simply by changing its name and uniform.
She said the decision to abolish RAB had received support not only from political parties other than the Awami League but also from international human rights organisations and the United Nations, which had raised questions about the force.
“Bangladesh has witnessed various forms of harassment, torture and intimidation by law-enforcement agencies in the past. We do not want the behaviour of any such agency to be repeated in the future,” she said.
Farhana urged the government to ensure that the police, RAB’s successor force and other state agencies operate free from political influence and partisan control while following laws, rules and discipline.
Earlier in the session, Parliament passed the SRB Bill, 2026 by voice vote despite opposition objections. The bill provides for the abolition of RAB and the formation of the SRB as a specialised unit under the police.
After Farhana’s remarks, the Speaker also called for members of both the government and opposition to be allowed to speak without interruption, stressing the importance of freedom of expression and parliamentary decorum.