Jatiya Party (JaPa) Chairman GM Quader has vowed to serve people instead of boycotting parliament.
The JaPa chairman brushed aside the possibility of boycotting parliament and said: "All the newly elected 11 MPs from JaPa will participate in the oath-taking ceremony. Rather than boycotting the parliamentary sessions, I want to contribute to the nation's progress.”
He said this after a private meeting with JaPa candidates from 33 constituencies in the Rangpur division on Tuesday.
Responding to a question about who will be the opposition leader in parliament, GM Quader said: "The ruling party has won a majority of seats, so they will form the government. JaPa, with the second-highest number of seats among opposition parties, will naturally become the opposition party. It is not common for independent members to hold this position, so it is unnecessary to question this."
Two associates of GM Quader, seeking anonymity, said that initially, Quader was reluctant to take the oath immediately. But after a private meeting with Rangpur division candidates, most leaders agreed it was best to join the parliament soon.
After being informed by the government's top officials that GM Quader would be the opposition leader in parliament, he changed his plans. Instead of staying in Rangpur for two more days, he left for Dhaka at 6:30pm and talked to journalists at 7pm.
Earlier, he had ended a meeting and went inside his house, refusing to speak to journalists, who waited outside for four hours for his statement.
