It is heartening to see that the Awami League-led parliament on Tuesday formed all parliamentary standing committees and legislative watchdog bodies in the first session of the 10th Jatiya Sangsad. This is the second time the standing committees were constituted in the first sessions of the new parliaments. For the first time in history, all watchdog bodies were constituted in the AL-led 9th parliament in the first session.
This demonstrates the party’s conviction to advancing the parliamentary system, aimed at making the executive accountable to the people’s representatives through the legislative mechanism.
Out of the total 50 watchdog bodies, 39 standing committees on each of the ministries are tasked to review the activities of the respective ministries to make them accountable to the MPs. Standing committees have the authority to inquire into any alleged corruption or rules violation by any minister or ministry official, no matter how powerful or assertive they are.
Twelve former ministers of the immediate-past AL government formed through the 9th parliamentary polls had been made chairmen of the parliamentary standing committees. This sounds like a good move from the AL leadership in order to make the parliamentary bodies vibrant under the leadership of the former ministers, as they know the government mechanism, including the bureaucracy.
Former Foreign Minister Dipu Moni has been elected chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry she headed just five months ago. That was also the case for former minister Hasan Mahmud, elected chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the environment ministry.
Former civil aviation minister Faruk Khan, ex-land minister Rezaul Karim Hira, former water resources minister Ramesh Chandra Sen, former state minister for labour and employment Monnuzan Sufian, former state minister for primary and mass education Motahar Hossain, and former state minister for liberation war affairs AB Tajul Islam were elected chairmen of the watchdog bodies on the ministries they once headed.
In the 9th parliament, Sheikh Hasina made her previous cabinet colleague Tofail Ahmed, who was industries minister between 1996 and 2001, the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the industries ministry.
Tofail Ahmed played a key role in making Industries Minister Dilip Barua and his officials accountable. He used to include in the meeting agenda the performance of the previous and immediate past governments, and give necessary policy directives to the ministry.
But making the ministers of the immediate past government the chairmen of the standing committees is almost sure to stand in way of the noble cause for which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has made the decision.
Why is that so? Because the standing committees are supposed to discuss the activities of the immediate past government in which these standing committee chairmen were the ministers. According to the Rules of Procedure, the chairmen are the sole authorities to set the agenda of every meeting. Would the newly elected standing committee chairmen allow the members to discuss the issues they find unpleasant?
The most likely answer: No.
For instance, would the chairman of the committee on water resources, Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen, allow the committee members to discuss the alleged lapses of the ministry for the signing of the Teesta Treaty with India? Again, will Hasan Mahmud make the alleged misuse of climate change adaptation funds the agenda of the meeting of the standing committee? Of course, contradictions will surface in such cases.
The Rules of Procedure clearly oppose making the MPs chairmen or members of the committees on the ministries, having their financial involvements.
There is no rule to restrict ex-ministers of the immediate past government to head the parliamentary watchdog bodies on the ministries they just quit. The AL leadership should think carefully about this issue and reconstruct the committees referred to. It should also insert a section in the Rules of Procedure restricting the ministers of the immediate past to head the chairmen of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministries they just left.
The AL leadership deserves praise for its decision to make the immediate-past health minister AFM Ruhul Haque the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on science and technology. The former minister can play his due role to make the ministry accountable, as there is no contradiction or conflict of interest, with regards to the science and technology ministry.
