Dhaka, Mar 15 (V7N) — The first session of Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliament will continue until April 30, with lawmakers set to hold a total of 50 hours of discussion on the president’s inaugural address, according to a decision taken by the parliamentary Business Advisory Committee.

The decision was made during the first meeting of the Business Advisory Committee held on Saturday at the cabinet room of the National Parliament complex in Dhaka, according to a press release issued by the Parliament Secretariat.

The meeting was chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, who also serves as chairman of the Business Advisory Committee. Prime Minister and Leader of the House Tarique Rahman attended the meeting as a member of the committee.

Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman was also present, along with several senior cabinet members and parliamentary leaders.

Among those attending were Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Chief Whip Nurul Islam, Law Minister Asaduzzaman, and lawmakers ATM Azharul Islam, Nahid Islam and Muhammad Naushad Zamir.

Deputy Speaker Kaiser Kamal also attended the meeting as a special invitee of the Speaker.

During the meeting, members discussed the agenda, duration and operational schedule of the first session of the 13th National Parliament. As part of the planning, the committee decided that lawmakers would allocate a total of 50 hours to debate the president’s address delivered at the opening of the parliamentary session.

According to the decision, parliamentary sittings will begin at 3:00 pm each day, except on government holidays. The Speaker has also been granted the authority to adjust the session schedule and working days if necessary.

Parliament Secretariat officials said a total of 468 questions have been submitted for the current session. Of these, eight questions are addressed to the prime minister, while 460 questions have been submitted for other cabinet ministers.

In addition, lawmakers have submitted 27 notices under Rule 71 to draw parliamentary attention to urgent public matters, and 97 notices under Rule 131 seeking discussion on proposed resolutions.

Parliament Secretary Kaniz Mowla provided secretarial support during the meeting, which was also attended by senior officials of the Parliament Secretariat.

The first session of the 13th National Parliament began earlier this month and is expected to focus on key legislative discussions, parliamentary oversight and policy debates involving the newly formed government and opposition parties.

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