No oath, no pay for 8 JOF MPs
bdnews24.com :
Eight Jatiya Oikya Front leaders have been listed as MPs in the government’s gazette, but they will not receive any benefits unless they take oath of office.
“They can’t get their salaries or allowances unless they are sworn in to parliament,” said Nitish Chandra Sarkar, an additional secretary to the parliament secretariat. “They’ll get these payments whenever they decide to take oath.” Oikya Front, an alliance comprised of the BNP and other parties, won eight seats in the recently held general election. It has rejected the outcome of the polls and refused to take oath of office while accusing the ruling Awami League of vote rigging. The Awami League has entered its third consecutive term in office after sweeping the polls, winning 257 seats. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir won in Bogura-6, Mosharraf Hossain in Bogura-8, Jahidur Rahman in Thakurgaon-3, Aminul Islam in Chapainawabganj-2, Harunur Rashid in Chapainawabganj-3 and Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan in Brahmanbaria-2.
In Moulvibazar-2, Gono Forum leader Sultan Mohammad Monsur won and Sylhet-2 was bagged by the Gono Forum’s Mukabbir Khan. Even though the alliance winners have refused to take oath, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said they
should take part in parliament for the sake of democracy even though they have won very few seats. Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed earlier provided a reminder that a seat will fall vacant if an MP-elect fails to take oath within 90 days of the parliament’s first session.
The first session of the 11th national parliament will be held on Jan 30. The winners of the election who have not taken oath will enjoy ‘MP-status’ until the end of the 90-day period, after which by-elections will be held in those constituencies, said Additional Secretary Nitish Chandra. “They now have MP status. It will become effective after they take oath,” he said. BNP leader Abdus Sattar who won Brahmanbaria-2 after fresh voting was held in three centres was listed as MP in gazette issued on Jan 13. The seven other Oikya Front winners were part of the gazette that listed 298 winners on Jan 1. The 10th parliament’s term will end on Jan 28, said the additional secretary. “There can’t be two MPs in one seat. And now that some winners have not taken oath and the old MPs are still around, that is why the first session will assemble on Jan 30.
“The first session of the 11th parliament will begin when the five-year term of the previous parliament comes to an end,” he added. The 10th parliament passed the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Allowances) (Amendment) Bill, 2016 doubling the MPs’ pay on May 5, 2016. Besides other allowances, it raised an MP’s monthly salary to Tk 55,000 from Tk 27,500. Currently, an MP gets Tk 5,000 for sumptuary allowance, Tk 750 daily allowance, Tk 500,000 discretionary funds, Tk 12,500 for expenses in their constituencies, Tk 70,000 monthly travel allowance, Tk 120,000 annual inland travel, Tk 1,500 monthly laundry allowance, Tk 6,000 crockery allowance, and Tk 15,000 in allowance for his or her office in the constituency. The Oikya Front submitted a memorandum to the EC on Jan 3 alleging massive rigging and other irregularities. It demanded that the EC organise fresh elections with a nonpartisan government in power after cancelling the results.
Eight Jatiya Oikya Front leaders have been listed as MPs in the government’s gazette, but they will not receive any benefits unless they take oath of office.
“They can’t get their salaries or allowances unless they are sworn in to parliament,” said Nitish Chandra Sarkar, an additional secretary to the parliament secretariat. “They’ll get these payments whenever they decide to take oath.” Oikya Front, an alliance comprised of the BNP and other parties, won eight seats in the recently held general election. It has rejected the outcome of the polls and refused to take oath of office while accusing the ruling Awami League of vote rigging. The Awami League has entered its third consecutive term in office after sweeping the polls, winning 257 seats. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir won in Bogura-6, Mosharraf Hossain in Bogura-8, Jahidur Rahman in Thakurgaon-3, Aminul Islam in Chapainawabganj-2, Harunur Rashid in Chapainawabganj-3 and Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan in Brahmanbaria-2.
In Moulvibazar-2, Gono Forum leader Sultan Mohammad Monsur won and Sylhet-2 was bagged by the Gono Forum’s Mukabbir Khan. Even though the alliance winners have refused to take oath, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said they
should take part in parliament for the sake of democracy even though they have won very few seats. Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed earlier provided a reminder that a seat will fall vacant if an MP-elect fails to take oath within 90 days of the parliament’s first session.
The first session of the 11th national parliament will be held on Jan 30. The winners of the election who have not taken oath will enjoy ‘MP-status’ until the end of the 90-day period, after which by-elections will be held in those constituencies, said Additional Secretary Nitish Chandra. “They now have MP status. It will become effective after they take oath,” he said. BNP leader Abdus Sattar who won Brahmanbaria-2 after fresh voting was held in three centres was listed as MP in gazette issued on Jan 13. The seven other Oikya Front winners were part of the gazette that listed 298 winners on Jan 1. The 10th parliament’s term will end on Jan 28, said the additional secretary. “There can’t be two MPs in one seat. And now that some winners have not taken oath and the old MPs are still around, that is why the first session will assemble on Jan 30.
“The first session of the 11th parliament will begin when the five-year term of the previous parliament comes to an end,” he added. The 10th parliament passed the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Allowances) (Amendment) Bill, 2016 doubling the MPs’ pay on May 5, 2016. Besides other allowances, it raised an MP’s monthly salary to Tk 55,000 from Tk 27,500. Currently, an MP gets Tk 5,000 for sumptuary allowance, Tk 750 daily allowance, Tk 500,000 discretionary funds, Tk 12,500 for expenses in their constituencies, Tk 70,000 monthly travel allowance, Tk 120,000 annual inland travel, Tk 1,500 monthly laundry allowance, Tk 6,000 crockery allowance, and Tk 15,000 in allowance for his or her office in the constituency. The Oikya Front submitted a memorandum to the EC on Jan 3 alleging massive rigging and other irregularities. It demanded that the EC organise fresh elections with a nonpartisan government in power after cancelling the results.
