Chief Whip urges MPs to play active roles in strengthening democratic governance

Chief Whip of the National Parliament Nurul Islam on Tuesday expressed his aspiration to see the current parliament emerge as the best in Bangladesh's history, urging newly elected lawmakers to play an active role in making it more effective and strengthening democratic governance.

"We want to see the current parliament as the best one in the history of Bangladesh. I expect the elected members of the 13th National Parliament to make this parliament more effective and establish it as the centre of democracy," he said while addressing the seventh briefing session of the Budget Helpdesk 2026, organised by the Budget Analysis and Monitoring Unit (BAMU) at Parliament.

The briefing was attended by elected members of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad. The eighth session featured State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, who delivered a presentation on budget allocations for institutions under the Local Government Division, according to a press release issued by the Parliament Secretariat.

During his presentation, the Chief Whip elaborated on the constitutional and Rules of Procedure-based roles and functions of the parliamentary standing committees, including the Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings.

He said the effective functioning of parliamentary standing committees is crucial to ensuring parliamentary accountability, maintaining financial discipline, and strengthening good governance.

Highlighting the responsibilities of lawmakers, Nurul Islam said the active participation of members of parliament, their sense of responsibility, and greater engagement in committee activities are essential to building an effective parliament.

Officials of the Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat and other relevant stakeholders were present at the briefing.