Bangabandhu used to attach the highest priority to the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly and alongside parliamentary proceedings, he was also very alert about the party discipline, the President said in his special speech in Parliament marking the ‘Mujib Borsho’.

He recalled that the number of opposition members was less than 10 when all parties and independents were combined but they were quite vocal and used to get sufficient time for placing their arguments.

“The parliamentary sessions were quite lively. The arguments, debates and presentations of views were very attractive. The presence of Bangabandhu himself and his statements were above everything else,” President Hamid said.

When it came to forming a committee to frame the constitution, Hamid recalled Bangabandhu saying, “We shall not form the committee with only our members; everybody shall be consulted irrespective of their party affiliations and opinions, so that a proper constitution can be presented in line with the wishes of our people.

“We shall seek the opinion of all for this purpose; this constitution shall uphold human rights; the people will be able to enjoy those rights throughout their lives.”

Hamid, the 20th President of Bangladesh, was an eager young man back then.

“It was a matter of great interest and attraction for me to participate in the sessions of the Constituent Assembly as its youngest and newest member,” he said.

“As an utterly new member, I used to observe with great enthusiasm the performances of the senior and experienced members. The parliamentarian Bangabandhu was then at the centre of my interest.”

Bangabandhu also did not hesitate to indulge in humour inside Parliament, Hamid said.

“Once, while speaking in the parliament, he laughingly said, ‘honourable Speaker, I am requesting via you, please raise the height of my microphone in future, because I am too tall a man’,” President Hamid recalled.

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