Is Parliament Just a Place to Say 'Yes' or 'No'?

Awami League MP and the head of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry Saber Hossain Chowdhury said, "Many have said that -the budget should be participatory, inclusive, and sustainable. When we come to the National Assembly, we should maintain the environment for discussion or debate. If not, it will show that we are in Parliament just to say yes or no.'' 

Saber Hossain made the remarks at a budget dialogue organized by the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a private think tank, on Saturday (June 12).

The tone of sorrow in the speech of MP Saber Hossain, shows the refection of the current scenario of the parliament. He is not alone, in recent times such frustration is being heard from many MPs. A few days ago, Jatiya Party MP Barrister Shamim Haider Patwari said, as a Member of Parliament, our main task is to shape laws. However, the reality is that in most cases we cannot fulfill this responsibility. In this case, the members of parliament of the ruling party have more limitations. We need to increase our parliamentary power. Parliament needs to be made more effective.

But why this happens? Why MPs are not able to play their role in Parliament?

In the last 50 years, Bangladesh has got 11 national parliamentary tenure. Of these, there is no need to analyze the parliaments formed during the military-paramilitary government. But the effectiveness of the parliaments formed during the democratic rule demands discussion and analysis. The second journey of democracy in the country began after the departure of the military ruler Ershad in the nineties.

But there is no such example that the government and the opposition had worked together for an entire term. Especially in the fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth parliaments. When the Awami League was in power, the BNP and its allies, and when the BNP was in power, the Awami League and its allies used the boycott of parliament as it was the only way to 'restore democracy'. And on that occasion, the government had run the parliament as per its wish and made laws. This trend continued till the ninth parliament.

Coming to the tenth parliament, the people of the country face new experiences and realities. The BNP boycotted the election in protest of the abolition of the caretaker government. As a result, the fortune of the Jatiya Party comes. The party staged a fancy drama about the election and sat in the opposition seat in the 10th Parliament. At the same time they became an ally of the Awami League government.

According to political scientists, there was no opposition in that parliament in reality. The Jatiya Party was elected as a partner of the grand alliance on the basis of a seat agreement with the Awami League. In a parliamentary democracy, the opposition not only finds the fault of the government, but also acts as an alternative or shadow government. In Britain, the opposition announced the name of a shadow minister or state minister for each government office. If the opposition party do not like any policy of the government in this regard, they not only end their responsibility by criticizing, but also raise alternative proposals. The Awami League and the BNP started the trend for some time in the nineties. Then the ‘caretaker debate’ ruined everything. The both parties almost stopped watching each other's faces.

After the tenth parliamentary election, no one thinks that the government can be changed through voting. Awami League leaders tried to defend themselves by imposing the accountability of the 2014 unilateral election on the BNP as If they came to the polls, there would be equal competition. But even after the BNP came to the polls in 2018, why did that competition not ensue? No one answers to the question that why BNP did not get 10 seats in the parliament (out of 300 seats, the BNP alliance got only 7).

Political analysts believe that a culture of questionable and controversial elections has been established in the country. The possibility of a change of power in a peaceful and normal democratic election process has been ruled out. Its effect can be seen in the parliament.

A ministry-based parliamentary committee is a process to hold government activities accountable. However, such instances are rare that parliamentary committees have played an effective role. Even though the opposition boycotted the session till the ninth parliament, the parliamentary committee meetings were held. That did not happen in the tenth parliament. The essential role of parliamentary committees in establishing parliamentary democracy, good governance, prevention of corruption, transparency and accountability, and integrity, etc., has never been effective.

The main task of the Member of Parliament is to make laws. But the question of how many MPs are interested or have minimal knowledge about that law is on the minds of many. In the nineties, when BTV and Bangladesh Betar first aired live parliamentary reports, people gathered to watch or hear. Now they don't even look at the session discussion.

Transparency International Bangladesh's (TIB) research report 'Parliament Watch' on the five sessions of the Eleventh National Assembly (January to December 2019) was released. Analyzing the activities of the current parliament, it said that the parliament has not fulfilled its basic responsibilities of enacting laws, representing the people and ensuring accountability of the government. Most of the parliamentary committees lack the effective accountability of the concerned ministries.

What is the way to hold accountable those who have wasted people's money as representatives of the people? Whips of Parliament are alerted to the presence of Members of Parliament. But in a parliament where the bill is passed in an average of 31 minutes, there is no opportunity to speak. No one has any job except to raise their hands and win. It is difficult to differentiate between such a parliament and a party meeting.

There was an unacceptable culture of boycotting the eighth and ninth parliaments. It has been come to an end at a very high price. At such a high price that it has been like cutting off a head to cure headache.

There is now an absolute majority of one party in the parliament. As a result, the opportunity for monopoly power in parliamentary activities has become institutionalized. Analysts say it does not meet the expected role of parliament, which is primarily responsible for enacting laws, holding the government accountable and representing the people. Even the possibilities seem to be constantly disappearing.