The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Some leading personalities in the civil society yesterday demanded passage of a bill delineating code of conduct for the members of parliament (MPs) which they said, was imperative for institutionalising parliamentary democracy.

The passage of the Parliament Members' Code of Conduct 2010 bill, which has been tabled in the parliament as a private member's bill, would help ensure accountability of lawmakers and bring qualitative change in politics, said Prof Mozaffar Ahmed.

He was speaking at a roundtable discussion organised by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) at CIRDAP auditorium in the city.

TIB Trustee Board Chairman M Hafizuddin Khan presided over the function, while its Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman made a power point presentation on the bill placed by Treasury bench lawmaker Saber Hossain Chowdhury.

Prof Mozaffar said several organisations have their code of conduct, but those have turned into rules not to be followed. If lawmakers maintain code of conduct, then others would be compelled to follow the rules.

The law would play a vital role in checking misuse of power and ensure transparency and accountability of the government, he said adding "enacting this bill is a moral responsibility of the lawmakers."

Saber Hossain Chowdhury said as peoples' representatives, the parliament members must follow code of conduct. As per its election manifesto, Awami League had a political commitment on code of conduct for the lawmakers, he said.

This bill would help fulfill peoples' expectations, strengthen the foundation of democracy and establish good governance, he added.

The bill proposes formation of a nine-member ethics committee headed by the Speaker. The committee, having representatives from lawmakers of all political parties, will take cognisance of any reported incident, investigate it, recommend punishments for the lawmakers violating the law and oversee its implementation.

The bill proposes that lawmakers will not resort to any illegal way of securing their own or others' interests, and that they should maintain their lifestyles to avoid conflicts of interest. Lawmakers will not recommend any type of recruitment, promotion, transfer or seniority for anyone.

They will not stand in the way of guaranteeing impartiality in the law enforcing agencies, judiciary and other bodies, and will refrain from influencing government decision on public procurement. If they receive gifts worth more than Tk. 5,000, they will deposit those to the government. They must not accept any gifts that can influence their decisions as lawmakers.

Awami League Golam Mowla Rony, Jatiya Party lawmaker Mujibul Haque Chunnu, BNP lawmaker Nilufar Chowdhury Moni, former chairman of PSC Dr Mostafa Chowdhury, former secretary Abdul latif Mandal, SUJAN's Dr Bodiul Alam Majumder, former adviser to caretaker government ASM Shajahan, former lawmaker Humayun Kabir Hiru, alternative secretary general of Jatiya Party (Manju) Sadek Siddiqui, among others, spoke.

Mujibul Haque Chunnu said as peoples' representatives, lawmakers should be cautious about their responsibilities.

Coordination between lawmakers and upazila chairmen should be established to ensure local development, he said, adding lawmakers should have involvement in local development. "Upazila chairmen would implement development programmes at local levels, and then lawmakers would monitor the works," he said.

Golam Mowla Rony said although there is no limitation of the responsibilities of the lawmakers, work area of the lawmakers as well as their transparency and accountability have been outlined at the bill.

Nilufar Chowdhury Moni said transparency and accountability of all lawmakers could be ensured if the code of conduct proposed in the bill is followed.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman said through recent researches of TIB and other organisations, it was observed that people have demands and expectations for such a code of conduct for lawmakers. This bill would play a vital role in checking misuse of power and ensure transparency and accountability of the government, he added.