Jamaat for bicameral parliament with 5-yr tenure

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami wants a bicameral parliament in Bangladesh with five-year tenure, said its Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher on Saturday.

“We've agreed on the bicameral parliament issue” he said at a press briefing during the lunch break of talks with the National Consensus Commission at the LD Hall of the Jatiya Sangsad Complex.

He said there were proposals to reduce Parliament and Presidential tenures to four years from five years. “But we told them that it wouldn’t be right. The tenures should be of five years,” said Taher.

A 10-member Jamaat delegation, led Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, participated in the discussion that began at 10:30am with Vice Chairman of the National Consensus Commission Prof Ali Riaz in the chair.

Consensus Commission members Safar Raj Hossain, Justice Emdadul Haque, Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar and Dr Iftekharuzzaman were present at the discussion moderated by Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant Monir Haider.

Jamaat delegation members included its Secretary General Professor Mia Golam Porwar, assistant secretaries general Rafiqul Islam Khan, AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad and Ehsanul Mahbub Jubair, publicity and media affairs secretary Matiur Rahman Akand, Jamaat Dhaka South City unit Ameer Nurul Islam Bulbul and Shishir Monir.

On March 20 last, the National Consensus Commission opened its dialogues with political parties aiming to build a national consensus on the reform initiatives undertaken by the interim government.

The commission has already held talks with 16 political parties, including BNP and National Citizen Party (NCP).

The commission formed under the leadership of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus aims to establish a unified stance on critical reforms, reports UNB.