Jatiya Party will act as main opposition in parliament: Quader

Shawdesh desk:

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Monday said the Jatiya Party (JaPa) would play the role of the main opposition in parliament.

“The party that secured the second highest seats in the general election will be the main opposition in the House and in that sense, the Jatiya Party will play the role. Independent MPs will remain the same,” he said.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, was speaking at a press conference held at the Awami League president’s Dhanmondi office in Dhaka.

The ruling party won a landslide victory in the 12th parliamentary election, bagging 223 seats out of 299. The Jatiya Party secured 11 seats, independent candidates bagged 62 seats, and the Workers’ Party of Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, and Bangladesh Kalyan Party got one seat each.

After winning 22 constituencies in the 11th general election, Hussain Muhammad Ershad-led Jatiya Party decided to act as the main opposition in the House with no representation in the Awami League-led grand alliance government.

In another context, Quader said the Awami League would hold a meeting of its Central Working Committee this evening and decide on if it would go for local government elections with the party symbol.

The meeting will be held at Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s official Ganabhaban residence.

At the press conference, the Awami League leader came down heavily on the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) saying the party is spreading rumours at home and abroad being involved in anti-government activities.

While prices of commodities are soaring around the world, he said, the BNP is propagating the issue as the footsteps of famine in the country.

“The Awami League is deeply rooted in the soil of Bangladesh and its strength is the country’s people. The ‘bomb of words’ will not be able to oust this government,” Quader added.