Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed cautioned BNP lawmaker Md. Selim Bhuiyan for raising a point of order immediately after the National Parliament session began. Reminding him that there are specific rules and designated times for raising points of order, the Speaker said, “I have not even started yet. I just greeted you with Assalamu Alaikum, and before I could hear Walaikum Assalam, you raised the issue.”

The incident took place on Tuesday (November 10), at the beginning of the second day of the fourth session of the 13th National Parliament. BNP lawmaker Md. Selim Bhuiyan, representing Cumilla-2, stood up to raise a point of order as soon as the session began.

Cautioning him, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed said a point of order should not be raised at the beginning of a session. Instead, it should be raised during the interval between the conclusion of one item of business and the beginning of another.

Standing on a point of order, Selim Bhuiyan said, “A little while ago, a Chhatra League cadre, a yellow journalist, released a video. In the video, he claimed that the parliamentary standing committee has no authority except to make recommendations. The ministry may or may not accept those recommendations. Through this video, he has questioned the credibility of our parliamentary committee.”

The BNP lawmaker further said, “Someone from among us may be involved in this. An important person in this Parliament may also be involved in making the video. I have handed it over to our Secretary so that he can examine it and bring it to your attention. I sincerely request you to form an investigation committee and take appropriate action.”

In response, the Speaker said, “There is a specific time for raising matters in Parliament. You may have raised this as a point of order, but whenever you want to raise an issue, you must first stand up and mention the relevant rule under which you are raising the point of order.

“There is also a designated time for such matters. A point of order should be raised in the interval after one item of the day’s agenda has concluded and before the next item begins.”

The Speaker added, “I have not even started yet. I just greeted you with Assalamu Alaikum, and before I could hear Walaikum Assalam, you raised the issue. You can raise it later, in accordance with parliamentary rules, during the interval between one stage and another or one item of business and the next. You must also specify whether the matter qualifies as a point of order and under which rule you are raising it. It can then be considered.”