A parliament session to approve the national budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year started on Wednesday amid the coronavirus pandemic for a second straight year.
Chaired by Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the 13th session of the 11th parliament kicked off at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal will propose his third national budget during this shorter session on Thursday.
The members of parliament will have to follow health measures put in place to reduce the risk of infection.
The speaker began by nominating the presidium. The members of presidium in this session are - Shahiduzzaman Sarker, AB Tajul Islam, Mazharul Haque Prodhan, Anisul Islam Mahmud, and Rumana Ali. They will chair the session in the absence of speaker and deputy speaker.
The speaker then placed a condolence motion for the MPs, former MPs, and distinguished citizens who died after the last session.
They include MPs Abdul Matin Khasru and Md Aslamul Haque, former MP and actor Sarah Begum Kabori, Language Movement veteran Md Abul Hossain, Bangla Academy Director General Habibullah Sirajee, Bangla Academy President Shamsuzzaman Khan, Rabindra Sangeet singer Mita Haque, folk music artist Indra Mohan Rajbongshi, actor Mesbahuddin Ahmed Wasim and the victims of coronavirus in Bangladesh and abroad.
Following tradition, the session is supposed to be adjourned after the discussion on the condolence motion.
MPs will attend the session based on a list this year as well where the attendance will be limited to between 100 and 120 people each working day, which means each parliament member will attend three to four days of the session at most.
Every member will have to carry coronavirus-negative certification to attend the session.
The result of one test will remain valid for two straight days, so MPs will have to undergo multiple tests for the 12-day run.
Last year’s budget session began on Jun 10. Kamal proposed a Tk 5.68 trillion spending plan for the year 2020-21 in the nine-day session, the shortest in Bangladesh’s history.
General visitors will be barred from entering the parliament premises during the session while the presence of journalists will be restricted. No foreign diplomats and representatives of international agencies have been invited.