A brief exchange took place in Parliament on Tuesday after a Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker referred to the Supreme Court’s cancellation of the nomination of BNP candidate Aslam Chowdhury in the 13th parliamentary election over a loan default issue, prompting the Speaker to say that a final decision rests with the Election Commission (EC).
Raising the matter on a point of order, Jamaat MP Md Nazibur Rahman referred to a recent parliamentary debate on whether any loan defaulters are serving as Members of Parliament.
He said during an earlier discussion, an independent MP had asked the Speaker whether there were any loan defaulters in Parliament, to which the Speaker replied that he could not comment as the matter was sub judice.
“Today, a person’s nomination was cancelled on the grounds of loan default. Can we now say that he was a loan defaulter?” Nazibur Rahman said, referring to the Appellate Division’s decision involving Aslam Chowdhury, who vied from Chattogram-4 on BNP’s ticket.
Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad immediately ruled that the issue did not constitute a valid point of order.
He said the question of whether a person will remain or become a Member of Parliament depends on the EC.
“If the Election Commission issues an order in line with the court’s directive, I will be able to inform the House accordingly. We have to wait for the EC’s final decision before making any conclusive comments,” the Speaker said.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed also intervened, recalling the earlier debate in Parliament.
“We said that there is no loan defaulter in this Parliament, although there may be members with outstanding loans,” he said.
Referring to the Supreme Court verdict, the minister said the individual concerned has not taken oath as an MP.
“He is not an MP. His candidacy was challenged and the Supreme Court has delivered its verdict. Had he been an MP, the matter could have been discussed differently. This is not a point of order,” he added.
Responding to the minister, the Speaker said the Chair should be allowed to decide whether a matter qualifies as a point of order.
However, he agreed with Salahuddin’s observation that the individual concerned is not an MP. “Your explanation that he is not an MP is correct,” the Speaker said.