The Parliament again experienced a significant disruption on Sunday as a microphone outage forced a session suspension lasting one hour and 18 minutes.
Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad initially adjourned the session for 40 minutes at 5:56 pm following technical failures.
The proceedings eventually resumed at 7:14 pm. This incident follows a similar outage on March 12, the first day of the current parliament, which also saw a 40-minute suspension.
The technical issues trace back to August 5, 2024, when the sound system was damaged during the student-led mass uprising.
While repairs were previously attempted, Members of Parliament have frequently complained about persistent noise levels and faulty headphones.
The outage occurred just as a heated political debate emerged following the passage of four bills.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam drew criticism from the opposition when he questioned their lack of support for an ordinance, issued by the interim government, to increase the job entry age limit to 32 years.
"There was a July uprising for jobs, but I am surprised that the opposition did not support the age increase bill," the Chief Whip stated.
The ensuing commotion between government and opposition benches, combined with the failing sound system, rendered his speech inaudible.
When the Speaker attempted to intervene, MPs collectively reported that they could not hear the chair, leading to the adjournment.
Upon resuming the session after Maghrib prayers, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed expressed his frustration, describing the repeated outages in the state's highest legislative body as "shameful."
The Speaker revealed that the current system was installed in 2022 under the previous regime and cited gross negligence in its procurement.
According to the Speaker, no documents regarding a warranty or validity period have been found in the parliament archives. He further noted that the supplier company is currently avoiding accountability.
Speaker Ahmad has instructed the Parliament Secretary to launch an investigation to uncover the truth behind the procurement and installation of the faulty system.
Later, while Home Minister Salahudduing Ahmed was speaking on a adjourned motion the sound system went off again for some minutes.