An adjournment motion has been raised in the National Parliament seeking a discussion on the process of implementing the July National Charter. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed has accepted the motion and allocated two hours for debate on Sunday.
The motion was placed by Noakhali-2 MP Zainul Abdin Farroque during the parliamentary session on Wednesday night under Rule 62 of the Rules of Procedure.
In the motion, he said the “July National Charter 2025” was formulated as a result of the July–August uprising following a prolonged political movement led by the BNP. He described the charter as an important outline for the country’s future political and constitutional structure.
He noted that the charter proposes amendments to the constitution, along with the enactment, revision and refinement of various laws and regulations. Therefore, he stressed that a detailed discussion in parliament on its implementation process is necessary.
Accepting the motion, the speaker described the move as a rare event in Bangladesh’s parliamentary history, noting that in the past 53 years this is the first time an adjournment motion submitted by a member from the treasury bench has been accepted for discussion.
Under Rule 65(2), he scheduled a maximum two-hour debate on the issue as the final agenda of Sunday’s sitting.
Earlier, on Monday, independent MP Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Iqbal had also submitted an adjournment motion regarding the implementation process of the July National Charter, though no decision has yet been made on that proposal.
During the question-and-answer session, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said the people are the ultimate source of all political power in the country and that the process of fulfilling commitments made to them has already begun. He added that government programs would be gradually presented and implemented through members of parliament elected through a neutral election.
The prime minister also said work is underway to prepare a 180-day plan, a plan for the upcoming fiscal year, and a five-year roadmap to implement the election manifesto.
As part of this initiative, the government has begun distributing “Family Cards” to 37,814 women-led households in 15 wards across 13 districts on a pilot basis to support marginal families. At the same time, an initiative has been taken to introduce “Farmer Cards” to protect farmers, with a pilot programme set to begin on April 14, Pahela Baishakh.
He added that the Farmer Card and Family Card programs would not increase inflation; rather, they would boost money circulation in local economies and improve the living standards of marginal communities.
The prime minister also informed parliament that a white paper committee has found that about $234 billion was illicitly siphoned out of Bangladesh between 2009 and 2023. Efforts are underway to strengthen information exchange and mutual legal assistance with various countries to recover the laundered money. He added that assets worth around Tk70,000 crore have already been seized at home and abroad.
Meanwhile, Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee told parliament that more than 318 kilometres of canals will be re-excavated under the Bangladesh Water Development Board during the remaining period of the current fiscal year to improve irrigation and drainage.
According to the government’s plan, a total of 20,000 kilometres of canals will be excavated and re-excavated across the country over the next five years.
Earlier, the sitting of the first session of the 13th National Parliament began at 3:30pm with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed in the chair. Proceedings started with the recitation of the Holy Quran, and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman took part in the parliamentary question-and-answer session for the first time.
