United News of Bangladesh

The BNP Parliamentary Party (BPP) on Tuesday unanimously elected party Chairman Tarique Rahman as the Leader of the House. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir disclosed this to reporters after the meeting of the BPP held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. This means Tarique Rahman is set to form the new government as Prime Minister. The ministers are scheduled to take oath at the South Plaza of Parliament at 4pm. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Fakhrul described it as a historic moment, saying that after a long period marked by repression, destruction of democracy and making parliament ineffective, the country has finally got a parliament through a credible election, achieved through the sacrifices of many people. “With a majority in parliament, we have elected our young leader Tarique Rahman as the leader of the parliamentary party,” he said. “We are hopeful that under his leadership the country will move forward significantly,” Fakhrul added. He said the first meeting of the parliamentary party also decided that BNP MPs will not take any duty-free car. “We have also decided that no government plot will be taken by our MPs,” he said. Earlier the newly elected BNP MPs were sworn in at the oath-taking room of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.  Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath. The 13th parliamentary election was held on February 12. Out of 300 seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad, results of two seats have been suspended, while election in one seat was cancelled following the death of a candidate.  Of the remaining 297 seats, BNP won 209, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami 68, Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP) 6, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish 2, while Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Gano Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Ganosamhati Andolon and Khelafat Majlish secured one seat each. Independent candidates won seven seats. On Monday, Tarique Rahman retained the Dhaka-17 seat and vacated the Bogura-6 seat. A by-election will be held in the constituency.

The Australian High Commission in Dhaka on Monday sought  proposals to support COVID-19 economic recovery in Bangladesh under the Business Partnerships Platform (BPP).