Opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman explains reason for boycotting President's speech

The opposition has boycotted President Mohammad Shahabuddin's speech in the first session of the 13th National Parliament. After a protest and walkout in the Parliament House, Opposition Leader and Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Shafiqur Rahman explained the reason for this decision to journalists.

On Thursday, when the President's speech began in the Parliament, opposition members protested strongly and at one point left the session room. Later, while talking to journalists outside the Parliament building, Shafiqur Rahman said that they boycotted the President's speech based on three reasons.

He said, "This Parliament stands on the blood of the July martyrs. We had earlier requested that the accomplices of fascists or murderers should not be given the opportunity to speak in this Parliament."

As his first allegation, he claimed that they believe the President was an accomplice in the killings that took place in the past. Secondly, he said that in his address to the nation on August 5, 2024, the President had said that the then Prime Minister had resigned and he had accepted it. But he later denied that statement, alleging that the President had made untrue statements in front of the people.

As a third reason, Shafiqur Rahman said that the President had signed an ordinance, which made provision for the election of members of the Parliament along with members of the Reforms and Amendments Council through the same election. He claimed that the matter of taking two types of oaths on the same day was also mentioned in that ordinance.

He further said that the President was responsible for calling a session of the Reforms and Amendments Council within 30 days of the promulgation of the ordinance, but this was not done. He claimed that even though about 70 percent of the people voted in favor of the reforms in the referendum, that public opinion was ignored by the President's action.

Meanwhile, the Chief Whip of the Opposition in the Thirteenth National Parliament, Nahid Islam, said that they will have a request to the Speaker so that no dictator or his associates can pollute the atmosphere of the Parliament by speaking in the Parliament.