13th Parliament Resumes PM and Opposition Leader Present

The second day of the first session of the 13th National Parliament resumed at 11:00 AM on Sunday, March 15. The session opened with a recitation from the Holy Quran, presided over by Speaker Major (Retd.) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.

In attendance were Leader of the Parliament and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, alongside Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman.

The current session initially convened on March 12 before being adjourned until today. Following a Business Advisory Committee meeting on Saturday, officials confirmed the session is scheduled to continue until April 30.

Data from the Parliament Secretariat indicates a heavy legislative agenda. Lawmakers are set to hold 50 hours of discussion on President Md. Shahabuddin’s speech. Additionally, the Secretariat has received 468 questions for the treasury bench—8 directed at the Prime Minister and 460 at various ministers. Other parliamentary business includes 27 call-to-attention notices (Rule 71) and 97 notices of decision-proposals (Rule 131).

The session follows a turbulent opening day, which saw walkouts by members of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the Jatiya Nagorik Party during the President’s address. The opposition alliance continues to press for the immediate convening of the Constitutional Reform Council.