According to the Constitution and the Rules of procedure of Parliament, the functions and responsibilities of the legislators include, inter alia, (1) electing the President of Bangladesh; (2) electing a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of Parliament at its first sitting after any general election; (3) making Rules of Procedure for smooth functioning of Parliament; (4) asking both starred and unstarred questions; (5) asking question(s) relating to a matter(s) of public importance; (6) calling attention to matters of urgent public interest; (7) moving a resolution relating to a matter of general public interest; (8) participating in the deliberations of a parliamentary committee on a ministry and / or any other parliamentary committee such as Committee on Private Members' Bills and Resolutions, Select Committee on Bills, Committee on Public Accounts, Committee on Estimates, Committee on Public Estimates to which he / she is nominated and discharging the functions assigned to such committee(s); (9) participating in the discussion on President's address to Parliament at the commencement of the first session after a general election of members of Parliament and at the commencement of the first session of each year ; (10) participating in the budget discussion and in matters pertaining to it; (11) participating in debates on bills and voting, in favour of or against, their passage; (12) voting on a question saying "Aye" (in favour of the motion) or "No" (against the motion); (12) moving a motion expressing want of confidence in the Cabinet of Bangladesh.

The details of the above functions and responsibilities have been laid down in the Rules of Procedure of Parliament. Procedure of Parliament is regulated by Rules of Procedure made by Parliament and adopted by it on July 22, 1974. These rules have, however, undergone several amendments. A good parliamentarian has to be well conversant with these rules. He/she has to be knowledgeable about the Constitution and important laws; he/she should be conversant with the working of the government; he/she has to go through the proceedings of the past parliaments; he/she has to learn from the biographies and writings of the reputed parliamentarians, national and international; he/she should enrich himself/herself with the proceedings of parliaments in other countries. A vibrant House full of lawmakers representing the ruling party/ alliance and the opposition parties including the main opposition party is a good ground for training of the lawmakers, particularly for the young ones. A good parliamentarian is an asset for the nation and can make invaluable contribution to the functioning of the democratic system in the country.

To discharge the aforesaid functions and responsibilities efficiently a legislator has to keep him/ her busy in the House and within the precincts of the House whether the Parliament is in session or not. So, a legislator is left with little or no time to look after any other work. But things have been happening in the reverse way. Zila Parishad (district Council) and Upazila Parishad (sub-district Council) have been made non-functional since the early nineties. The MPs have been involved in the execution of local works, both developmental and non-developmental. In the words of an analyst : " Most MPs, irrespective of political affiliation, did not want any powerful rival in the constituency in the form of a directly elected Upazila Parishad Chairman, wielding substantial power over development resources to build schools and roads. As the saying goes in Bengali, how can there be two Peers (religious leaders) under one roof? Although the MP is meant exclusively for making laws in the Parliament, in the concrete conditions of Bangladesh, he/she must have the last say in all developmental matters within his/her constituency." Another analyst says, "At the highest level of representative government, we have the honourable members of parliament whose primary role is legislative. The issue that becomes relevant here is what proportion of time of the honourable members is spent on law making? In the 300 seats of parliament we, in fact, elect 300 executives."

Now let us try to analyse as to why MPs should not be involved in the execution of local works, developmental or non-developmental.

*Involvement of the MPs in local developmental or non-development works in the capacity of advisers is at variance with the functions and responsibilities assigned to them by the Constitution and Rules of Procedure of Parliament.

*MPs are advisers to the Upazila Development and Coordination Committees and to some other committees of specific nature. MPS have "a strong say in all local development activities including those executed through the local government bodies." MPs greatly influence decisions particularly when they are from the ruling political party.

*Article 59 of the Constitution provides that local government in every administrative unit of the Republic shall be entrusted to local bodies composed of persons elected in accordance with law. Every local body shall perform within the appropriate administrative unit such functions as shall be prescribed by Act of Parliament, which may include functions relating to (a) administration and the work of public officers; (b) the maintenance of public order; (c) the preparation and implementation of plans relating to public services and economic development.

Keeping this in view, Public Administration Reforms Commission in its report (vol. 1) of June, 2000 has recommended that "the role of the MP as Upazila Adviser may be reviewed and he/ she may be involved only in planning matters relating to his/her jurisdiction."

*According to some analysts, legislators' involvement in local development activities has been creating dissatisfaction at the local level. Such dissatisfaction has harmful effect on the political process leading ultimately to dishonest and unethical practices.

*The National Union Parishads Forum( NUPF ) has already requested the government 'to stop unwarranted interference of the MPs in the affairs of the union parishads.'

*The abolition of the Upazila Parishads headed by directly elected chairmen and the immense influence now exercised by the MPs on the local administration has been an obstacle to the growth of local level leadership.

M. Abdul Latif Mondal is a former Secretary to the government.