Rumeen alleges verbal abuse by fellow lawmakers
Rumeen also recalled facing a similar situation in the 2018 parliament when she had stood alone to speak for the BNP.
Independent MP Rumeen Farhana today (10 September) alleged that fellow lawmakers used abusive language against her in parliament, saying such behaviour was outside parliamentary norms.
Speaking during the debate on the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) Bill, she referred to an incident a day earlier when government lawmakers disrupted her speech during discussion of the Bank Resolution (Amendment) Bill.
"After I spoke, the kind of behaviour I witnessed in parliament does not happen in the parliament of any democratic country," Rumeen said. She said lawmakers who disagreed with her could have responded to her arguments after she finished speaking.
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"Not only that, lawmakers sitting around me in this great parliament used abusive language. This does not fall within parliamentary norms," she said.
Government lawmakers were seen shouting as she spoke, prompting Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed to gesture for them to stop. The Speaker said he supported freedom of speech and expected both government and opposition lawmakers not to obstruct one another while speaking.
"Whatever happened yesterday has happened. We have to look towards the future. I respect your sentiment," he told Rumeen.
Rumeen then recalled facing a similar situation in the 2018 parliament when she had stood alone to speak for the BNP. She said if there was no "minimum change" after a government was brought to power through an election "at the cost of several thousand lives", there was little point in the opposition remaining in parliament merely to cast votes.
She then linked the issue to the conduct of state institutions, raising concerns about the restructuring of law-enforcement agencies following the abolition of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
Rumeen said the new agency should not merely be a renamed version of RAB, and called for its investigation and detention procedures to be properly considered.
Referring to alleged abuses by law-enforcement agencies in the past, she said she had seen people harassed, tortured and intimidated. She urged the government to ensure that all such agencies operate free from partisan influence.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said he was unwilling to respond to remarks unrelated to the bill under discussion.
