Staff Reporter:
The new 13th parliament is going into its first session at 11.00am today, an official release of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat said yesterday.
Earlier, on February 23, President Mohammad Shahabuddin summoned the session on March 12.
The President, also the head of the state, convened the session exercising the power bestowed upon him as per the Article 72 (1) of the Constitution, the release said.
Before commencing the House proceedings on the day, the Parliamentary Business Advisory Committee is likely to hold a meeting to fix the duration and agendas of the session.
The main task of the treasury bench in the first sitting is to place those ordinances before the House which the government wants to turn into law.
The interim government promulgated or amended a total of 130 ordinances during its 18-month tenure.
According to the constitution, the president must convene the first session of the new parliament within 30 days of publication of the gazette of the parliamentary election results.
He does so in accordance with the written advice of the prime minister.
The gazette of the MPs elected in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election held on February 12 was published on February 13.
BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has already been elected as the Leader of the House in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad, while Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman has been elected as the Leader of the Oppo-sition.
As speaker of the 12th Parliament Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has resigned, a senior BNP leader will preside over the first sitting of parliament, an official of the parliament secretariat said.
Immediately after the House goes into its maiden sitting, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be elected and to be sworn in by the President.
After their election, the session is likely to be adjourned for 15 to 20 minutes for the oath-taking.
The new Speaker will then preside over the House session.
The Business Advisory Committee of the new parliament will also be formed at the first sitting, with the new Speaker as its head.
The committee will decide the tenure of the inaugural session and other businesses of parliament.
The standing committees on different ministries are likely to be formed during this session.
President Shahabuddin will also address the first sitting of the session in line with the constitution, ac-cording to sources at the parliament secretariat.
The cabinet will approve the speech, and MPs will discuss the president’s speech.
At the first sitting, the House will also adopt an obituary motion.
The current parliament was formed through the February 12 national election in which the BNP-led alli-ance secured 212 seats, while BNP alone won 209 seats.
The Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance bagged 76 seats, with Jamaat alone 68.
