Bangladesh News

Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina yesterday blasted the government for its failure to alert the people of the coastal belt about the recent devastating storm and for its negligence in recovering dead bodies and rescuing missing fishermen.
On a point of order in the parliament yesterday Sheikh Hasina also engaged in a debate with Health Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Law Minister Moudud Ahmed over the proposed electoral reforms and Saturday’s debacle of the moon sighting committee regarding the Ramadan moon.

Following the debate Awami League (AL) lawmakers led by Sheikh Hasina staged a walkout protesting the ‘partisan’ attitude of Speaker Jamir Uddin Sircar, who ignored Deputy Leader of the Opposition Abdul Hamid’s attempt to speak on a point of order.

In her speech Sheikh Haisna proposed formation of a parliamentary committee to monitor the search and rescue operations in coastal areas and also asked for proper investigation of why the government failed to alert the people despite getting the met office forecast earlier.

Denying the allegation Health Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told the House that the government took all necessary measures to rescue missing fishermen. Even the met office also circulated the forecast before the storm but many fishermen did not come back from the deep sea due to a sudden storm.

Taking the floor on a point of order Sheikh Hasina said now the government wants to control the matters of religious practices too, like Ramadan and Eid. “The month of Ramadan started from Saturday in other Muslim countries but our moon sighting committee did not see the moon,” she said.

Lambasting the government for failing to alert the people about the storm she said, “Now foxes and dogs are gnawing the bodies of the dead in coastal areas but the government has no worry. Many people including a captain of a naval vessel are still missing,” she complained.

“The prime minister could not visit the storm affected area as she is busy attending public rallies,” she alleged adding that the prime minister used a helicopter to attend her party programmes while there is no helicopter for rescuing the people affected by the storm.

Criticising the prime minister, she said, “People’s lives are totally valueless to the present government and that is why it does not respect the people’s right to vote freely. It knows how to rig the polls and it also knows election engineering. That is exactly why we have placed the reform proposal.”

She strongly criticised the government for its failure to come to a pragmatic decision regarding the sighting of the Ramadan moon as the Muslims of many countries started fasting from Saturday.

In his hard hit replies Health Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said radio and TV channels duly aired all the warnings to fishermen asking them to remain in safe places.

“Just after the storm, the government took all kinds of measures and engaged all available tools for rescuing the affected people and fishermen,” he said.

Criticising Hasina’s speech on moon sighting, he said, “Religious matters should not be brought into politics.”

After Mosharraf’s speech, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Abdul Hamid stood up but the speaker moved on to another business of the day and subsequently the AL lawmakers staged a walkout.

Prior to the health minister, Law Minister Moudud Ahmed said it was Awami League who started rigging votes in 1973. “The opposition have failed to show their sense of responsibility by observing a hartal and a blockade programme during the natural disaster,” he said.

Earlier, Suranjit Sen Gupta, K M Jahangir Hossian and Shahjahan Khan from AL, BNP lawmakers Major (retd) Manjur Quader and Salahuddin Ahmed, and Jatiya Party Lawmaker Hafizuddin Ahmad spoke on points of order.