‘Do Not Curtail Our Rights’: Opposition Leader Urges Adherence to Parliamentary Rules

Standing on a point of order during the presentation of the ‘Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026’ and the ‘Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026,’ he raised strong objections to the legislative process.

Addressing the Speaker, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman stated, “Do not curtail our rights. Let our rights be protected through you. Postpone these two bills, the documents for which were only provided to our desks today.” He alleged that despite requesting the documents for these crucial bills three days in advance, they were not provided even a day before the session. He characterized the hurried passage of bills without giving Members of Parliament adequate time for review as a violation of parliamentary procedure. He further noted that since many members are new to the House, it is their collective expectation that the Parliament functions strictly according to the rules.

Regarding the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority Bill, the Opposition Leader questioned the urgency of passing it immediately, noting that the legislation is not bound by any specific deadline. He proposed suspending the discussion and bringing the bill to the next session. In response, Deputy Speaker Barrister Kaiser Kamal clarified that the proceedings were following Rule 80 and mentioned that the reports on the bills were submitted the previous day. Despite the staunch objections from the opposition bench, both bills were ultimately passed by a voice vote.