Legal experts see no violation of the Constitution if Ganaforum lawmakers-elect Sultan Muhammad Mansur Ahmed and Mokabbir Khan take oath, defying the party decision not to do so and join Parliament. However, some pro-opposition lawmakers questioned the moral obligation of the two lawmakers-elect, who have been elected as candidates of the opposition alliance Jatiya Oikyafront.
Both Muhammad Mansur Ahmed and Mokabbir Khan said they would take oath and join Parliament on behalf of the people of their respective constituencies and want to speak in the Jatiya Sangsad on behalf of them.
Meanwhile, the Jatiya Sangsad is set to administer oath to the two lawmakers at 11:00 am on March 7.
Parliament secretariat sources said they have received letters from the duo yesterday and the Speaker has decided to administer oath to them at the specified date and time as per their request.
Ruling Awami League-backed lawmakers said there is no legal bar to take oath by the two Ganaforum lawmakers-elect as they would take oath as elected representatives from their respective constituencies. “There is no legal bar for taking
oath by the two Ganoforum lawmakers-elect. They can take oath as elected representatives of the people and also speak in Parliament for them,” said former law minister barrister Shafique Ahmed.
Talking to reporters, Shafique Ahmed said there will be no constitutional violation if the lawmakers-elect take oath, defying the party decision. “Even if their party expels them for taking oath as Members of Parliament, they won’t lose their Parliament membership. If they are expelled, they would be treated as independent lawmakers,” he added.
The former minster said the question does not arise for them for imposing Article 70 of the Constitution that prohibits floor crossing against the party. “Article 70 will not be applicable to them,” he added.
Some pro-BNP lawyers consider taking oath by the two Ganaforum lawmakers-elect as a matter of principle and morale obligation. They said the lawmakers-elect cannot join Parliament without the approval of their respective parties.
Sultan Muhammad Mansur Ahmed has been elected from Moulavi Bazaar-2 with the sheaf of paddy poll symbol of the BNP, which is a major partner of the Jatiya Oikyafront. Mukabbir Khan has been elected from the Sylhet-2 constituency with the Gonoforum’s ‘rising sun’ poll symbol. Ganaforum is also a major partner of the alliance.
Pro-BNP lawyer and president of Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association, advocate Zainul Abedin, said if the two lawmakers-elect are members of Ganaforum, the matter would depend on the party decision. “If they carry membership of the party (Ganaforum), we have to look into the matter whether they can take oath defying the party decision. All things depend on the party’s decision,” he added.
Earlier, Ganaforum executive president advocate Subrata Chowdhury told The Independent that they (two lawmakers-elect) cannot join Parliament without their consent.
Meanwhile, Ganaforum general secretary Mostafa Mohsin Montu said they would take disciplinary action against the duo if they take oath in violation of the party decision. Both the party and Jatiya Oikyafront are yet to take any decision to join Parliament. The decision of the Jatiya Oikyafront not to join Parliament is still in force, he added.
Suntan Muhammed Mansur Ahmed confirmed that they have sent a letter to the Speaker to take oath on March 7. “We will take oath on behalf of the people of our respective constituencies as they elected us to speak for them,” he added.
The Jatiya Oikyafront has rejected the elections over alleged engineering of votes and decided that its nine lawmakers, including six from the BNP, would not take oath. The Oikyafront also demanded a fresh election under a non-partisan neutral government.