All 50 parliamentary committees formed

The four newly constituted committees cover the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Public Administration and Public Undertakings.

Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni proposed the formation of the four committees and reconstitution of several existing ones. The House approved the proposals by voice vote.

All four newly formed committees are chaired by BNP lawmakers.

Md Ashraf Uddin (Narsingdi-5) was made chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Defence, while Miah Nuruddin Ahmad Apu (Shariatpur-3) chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.

Sayeed Ahmed (Shariatpur-1) was made chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Public Administration, while Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni (Barguna-2) was made chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Undertakings.

Several existing parliamentary committees were also reconstituted without changing their chairmen.

The reconstituted committees are those on Private Members’ Bills and Resolutions, the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Of these, only the Committee on Private Members’ Bills and Resolutions is chaired by opposition Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami MP Shahjahan Chowdhury (Chattogram-15).

There are 50 parliamentary committees in the Jatiya Sangsad, including 39 standing committees on ministries and 11 subject-based committees.

All the parliamentary committees except the Public Accounts Committee, headed by Syed Abdullah Mohammed Taher, and the Committee on Private Members’ Bills and Resolutions are chaired by ruling-party lawmakers, reports UNB.