United News of Bangladesh

Parliament on Monday passed seven bills, including Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and Electoral Rolls (Amendment) Bill, 2026 as part of the move to endorse the relevant ordinances promulgated during the interim government period. Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman placed the bills in the House and then Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal, who was chairing the House, piloted the bills separately to votes.    The bills were passed by voice votes as there was consensus in the all-party parliamentary special committee to accept these ordinances. Voting for reserved women seats of 13th parliament on May 12 Other bills, passed in the parliament, include Delimitation of Parliamentary Constituency Bill, 2026, Election Commission Secretariat (Amendment) Bill, 2026, Election Officer (Special Provision) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, National Parliament Secretariat (Interim Special Provision) (Repeal) Bill, 2026, and Bangladesh Law Officers (Amendment) Bill, 2026. Besides, the Law Minister placed four other bills in Parliament. The bills are Supreme Court Judges Appointment (Repeal) Bill, 2026, Supreme Court Secretariat (Repeal) Bill, 2026, National Human Rights Commission (Repeal and Restoration) Bill, 2026, and Land Use Control and Agriculture Land Protection Bill, 2026.

‘The Bangladesh Tour Operators and Tour Guides (Registration and Operation) Bill, 2021’ was placed in Parliament on Saturday, making it mandatory for tour operators and guides to get registered. It was prepared aiming to bring the tour operators under the legal framework for ensuring the best services and thus give a boost to the tourism sector. State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali placed the Bill and it was sent to the respective Standing Committee for further scrutiny. The Committee was asked to submit its report within one month. As per the proposed law, a touring company will have to collect a license. No company will be allowed to operate tours without registration. If anyone does, it would be tried under the Code of Criminal Procedure. The proposed law also has a provision of handing over the registration to another tour operator in case of death, physical and financial incapability. Also read: 12th session of Parliament begins The draft law suggested that criminal acts of the tour operators will be tried under the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 aimed at protecting the interest of the tourists. As proposed, the activities of tour operators, tour guides, general tour guides, cultural guides, nature guides and trekking guides will now be regulated. Now, there’s no guideline and rule for tour operators in the country. The conditions for getting registration, period of registration and provisions for cancellation of registration have been mentioned in the bill. Also read:JS session goes into session on Jan 18 It has precisely been defined in the bill who can be tour operators and tour guides. Once the bill is passed, it will make tour operators operate properly within legal framework, the tourism sector will flourish, the revenue of government will increase and it will be easier to avail the tour services, the Bill stated in its objective.