Staff Reporter:

Speaker Major (Retd.) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Bir Bikram, admonished opposition MP Hasnat Abdullah on Friday, telling him to exercise patience and restraint after the lawmaker became visibly agitated during a heated parliamentary debate over amendments to the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum Bill.

“You cannot be this impatient, Mr. Abdullah. This is not Shahbag intersection, this is Parliament. You must wait patiently here and listen,” the Speaker said, directing his remarks at the Cumilla-4 MP during the thirteenth day of the first session of the thirteenth parliament.

The exchange occurred after the passage of the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum Bill 2026 with three ruling party amendments that increased government control over the institution, a move that triggered strong objections from the opposition. As tensions escalated in the chamber, the Speaker intervened to restore order.

Addressing Hasnat Abdullah directly, the Speaker explained that parliamentary procedure allows limited scope for verbal interventions. “You will submit notices, and we will adjudicate on those notices. The point the Law Minister has made can be reconsidered. You can discuss among yourselves and bring an amendment bill in the next session, which the ruling party will certainly consider,” he said.

Despite the tension, the Speaker took the opportunity to commend the overall conduct of the current parliament, drawing comparisons with previous assemblies he had witnessed. “I have seen the previous six parliaments. No previous parliament had as beautiful and cooperative an environment as this one. The remarkable understanding shown by both the government and opposition in passing 90 bills is rare in parliamentary history,” he said, noting that past parliaments were marked by extremely sharp and even obscene exchanges between the two sides.

The Speaker highlighted the strength of the current opposition, calling the presence of 77 to 78 opposition members a significant achievement for democracy. “We all came here through a fair election. After the July uprising, this parliament has had a wonderful beginning. We want to move forward with the spirit of cooperation,” he said.

Striking a conciliatory tone, the Speaker affirmed that disagreement is the beauty of democracy. “If there were no differences of opinion, the country would have only one party,” he observed, pledging to ensure the opposition receives its rightful space in parliamentary proceedings.

“As Speaker, I assure you that I will make every effort to ensure the opposition gets the rights it deserves,” he said.