In a move to ensure preferential treatment for the lawmakers’ own family members, the parliament has decided to issue special car stickers separately to identify the vehicles carrying the relatives, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has said.
Under the existing policy, each lawmaker is entitled to have a single sticker for their own car; but if their family members are also given extra stickers, those relatives would also be able to enjoy preferential treatment on the road and bridges as well as avoiding security checks.
“Each MP would get one sticker for their own vehicle and one different coloured sticker for their family members,” Speaker Shirin Sharmin said.
She added that the stickers would have a hologram embedded with a security code and the vehicle number so that authorities concerned and law enforcers could easily identify the vehicle’s owner.
Besides, a different set of stickers would also be launched for the officials of the Jatiya Sangsad, the speaker said.
On Wednesday, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told the house that car stickers of the MPs have been forged and found in the city’s Nilkhet area and used even by domestic helps of the lawmakers.
“We lawmakers have a responsibility. We should be lawmakers, not lawbreakers,” Obaidul said, also pointing out that some MPs also ignore traffic rules.
During yesterday’s sitting of the House, Bangladesh Nationalist Front lawmaker SM Abul Kalam Azad also spoke about the car sticker for MPs.
Earlier last June, the Dhaka Tribune published a story about the illegal practice of parliament staff who sold special car stickers for only Tk200.
Sources told the Dhaka Tribune that a section of parliament officials have been selling these fabricated stickers containing the emblem of the Jatiya Sangsad and “parliament member” written under it.
Meanwhile, speaking about a different issue at the parliament, Awami League lawmaker Abdul Matin Khasru yesterday demanded that the government immediately rehabilitates the poor people who have been burnt during the BNP-led alliance’s blockade programme.
Speaking on point of order, he also termed the indefinite blockade as a criminal offence against the state and suggested taking legal action against the BNP.