GM Quader becomes leader of opposition in parliament

Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has recognized Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader, the lawmaker representing Rangpur-3, as the leader of the opposition in the 12th Parliament.

At the same time, she also recognized JaPa Co-Chairman Anisul Islam Mahmud (Chittagong-5) as the deputy leader, according to a gazette notification issued by the Parliament Secretariat on Sunday.

The Rules of Procedure of Parliament defines the leader of the opposition as the member of parliament who, in the opinion of the speaker, is the leader of the party or the group, as the case may be, in opposition to the government with the greatest numerical strength in the House.

The Awami League formed a government this month after having won 223 out of 299 seats in the January 7 election.

JaPa won 11 seats and independent candidates, mostly Awami League leaders, 62 seats.

In such circumstances, there had been discussions on whether JaPa would be able to sit on the opposition benches.

However, with the speaker recognizing the leader of the party as the leader of the opposition, JaPa is going to play the role of the opposition party in the 12th parliament.