United News of Bangladesh

BNP Standing Committee Member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan on Wednesday said the current Parliament could become a milestone in Bangladesh’s democratic history if democratic institutions are established on strong foundations. “If we can strengthen our democratic institutions on solid foundations for the future of democracy in Bangladesh, this Parliament will certainly remain a milestone in the country’s democratic history,” he said while addressing a round-table discussion titled “The Current National Parliament: A New Milestone in Democratic Politics” at a city hotel. Former Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Anwarullah Chowdhury chaired the event arranged by Citizen’s Forum, Bangladesh. “Our key responsibility now is institutional building,” Moyeen Khan said. Drawing comparisons with the United States, he said democratic institutions built over centuries help sustain democratic governance even during periods of political uncertainty. “In Bangladesh, after more than 50 years, we must ask ourselves what democratic institutions we have truly built,” he said. The BNP leader said the present Parliament bears an additional responsibility to establish durable democratic institutions capable of protecting democracy in the future. He said it was still too early to conclusively determine whether the current Parliament will ultimately emerge as a milestone, but stressed that the discussion itself reflected the country’s renewed democratic aspirations. “Time will say whether this Parliament becomes a new milestone. But I believe the sacrifices made by people during the movement against authoritarianism created an opportunity to move Bangladesh forward through democratic institutions,” Moyeen Khan, who had experience serving in five parliaments, said. Referring to the responsibilities of lawmakers, he said the primary duty of MPs was lawmaking, but in developing countries like Bangladesh parliamentarians are also expected to address various public demands at the grassroots level. “In our context, MPs have to do everything from lawmaking to solving people’s immediate social problems,” he said. The BNP leader questioned how effectively lawmakers were able to fulfil their legislative responsibilities given the large volume of laws and ordinances processed by Parliament. He referred to discussions over 133 ordinances promulgated during the interim administration in the maiden session of 13th Parliament and said lawmakers had to review and pass a substantial number of laws within a limited timeframe.