Dhaka: Repeated pandemonium and walkouts marked Wednesday’s parliament session as the opposition BNP lawmakers went out of the House twice protesting a remark of Jute and Textiles Minister Abdul Latif Siddique and not allowing a point of order raised by Syeda Asifa Asharafi Papia.

In the first phase, the chaos ensued when Jute and Textiles Minister Abdul Latif Siddique accused late President Ziaur Rahman for destroying the country's jute industry while replying to a supplementary question from treasury bench member Emajuddin Pramanik.

The main opposition BNP lawmakers staged the walk-out also protesting Jute and Textile Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui’s scathing personal attacks on BNP leader Barrister Moudud Ahmed.

At one stage, the BNP lawmaker led by Barrister Moudud Ahmed staged a walkout protesting the assertion of the minister when Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Choudhury was in the chair.

However, the opposition MPs returned to the House after a while and participated in the day's proceedings.

The BNP lawmakers walked out from the House at about 6:00pm when the Jute and Textile Minister continued his scathing personal attacks on Moudud Ahmed during question and answer session on the House floor while answering a question regarding arrear payment of jute purchase by the government.

The third day of the House proceeding of 18th session dubbed Budget Session of the ninth Jatiya Sangsad resumed at about 5:25pm on Wednesday and Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury chaired the session.

It was the second walkout staged by the BNP lawmakers after their joining in the House on Monday ending an 83-day boycott at a stretch.

The main opposition BNP walked out from the current budget session of the parliament barely two hours of their joining the House on Monday.

Chaos ran high when he cited some examples from the past and said the Bangladesh's jute sector plunged into darkness during the tenure of late President Ziaur Rahman as he did not take any positive steps for the betterment of the sector rather he denationalized many jute mills.

The jute mills were denationalized and a huge number of workers lost their jobs during that period, he added.

As the minister was continuing, the BNP lawmakers started shouting at him which prompted the Speaker to intervene. "Hounarable members please take your seats and you will get chance to reply," the Speaker assured the opposition lawmakers.

At one stage, BNP stalwart Barrister Moudud Ahmed took the floor and urged all including the ministers not to use any words, which may hurt others' sentiment for the sake of a smooth running of the parliament proceedings.

Immediately after Moudud Ahmed, Jute Minister Abdul Latif Siddique took the floor and tried to calm down the situation and also mentioned his warm personal relations with Barrister Moudud.

"Don't be worried hounarable Speaker, parliament can't be lively without heated debate," the minister said in a lighter vein. But, his witty remarks could not pacify the BNP lawmakers. Finally, they staged the walkout from the House at around 6.40pm shouting at the minister.

After the question-answer session, BNP lawmaker Syeda Asifa Ashrafi Papiya took the floor and tried to speak on a point of order. But, the chair did not allow her as the move did not cover the Rules of Procedure.

Protesting the decision of the chair, the BNP lawmakers staged walkout again.

The 18th session began on June 3 amid participation of the main opposition BNP ending a long boycott of the House and the BNP lawmakers staged a walkout on the very first day after spending two hours and 20 minutes in the House protesting the imposition of the ban on opposition rallies and processions in the capital city.

And on Wednesday the main opposition party lawmakers staged their second walk-out without saying anything sparking fear that the opposition MPs might boycott the main budget presentation by Finance Minister AMA Muhith set for Thursday.

Just before the walkout, the Speaker praised the opposition for their cooperation in running the House while holding a meeting with visiting Norwegian International Development Minister Heikki Eidsvoll Holmas who called on her at her Jatiya Sangsad office on Wednesday.

Ends/OSR/AMA/05/06/13