Opposition stages walkout over municipality, other bills in parliament
The Jamaat ameer said the opposition did not want to take responsibility for laws passed despite reasonable objections, prompting their walkout.
The opposition in parliament staged a walkout today (9 April) in protest against the passage of the Local Government (Municipality) Amendment Bill, 2026, along with several other bills.
Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman announced the walkout at 5:56pm, immediately after the municipality bill was passed.
The bill seeks to further amend the Local Government (Municipality) Ordinance, 2009.
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The Jamaat ameer said the opposition did not want to take responsibility for laws passed despite reasonable objections, prompting their walkout.
Earlier, Pabna-1 lawmaker Nazibur Rahman had opposed the amendment to the Local Government (Municipality) Ordinance, 2009.
He argued that the law provides no mechanism to remove elected local government representatives and replace them with unelected individuals.
In response, State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam said failing to amend the law would allow fascist forces to return.
He added that the amendment abolishes elections with party symbols in local government and ensures that the current government can conduct elections promptly.
After Shafiqur's walkout announcement, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said, "I stood to thank them. They participated in the first, second, and third bills, with some even raising their hands in support. After taking part in the entire process, this walkout doesn't make any sense."
Earlier in the ongoing session, the opposition had staged two additional walkouts, objecting to and opposing the passage of several bills, including the National Human Rights Commission (Repeal and Re-introduction) Bill, 2026, the Supreme Court Secretariat (Repeal) Bill, 2026, and the Supreme Court Judges Appointment (Repeal) Bill, 2026.
