During the question-answer session, the lawmakers asked the minister to make a categorical statement on whether his ministry will take any step to compel the private operators to reduce their "huge call charges."

The minister told the House that the private operators pledged to reduce their call charges. However, his answer could not pacify of the lawmakers who rejected the minister's reply by shouting.

"It's not an answer, we want specific initiatives of the ministry," one member was heard shouting when the minister was replying to a supplementary question of BNP lawmaker Moshiur Rahman.

Amid huge table-thumbing from both the benches of the House, including even some ministers, Moshiur Rahman said, "GrameenPhone has been plundering crores of taka. It charges Tk 7 per minute call which is the highest in the world."

In reply, Aminul Haq said the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry summoned both the BTRC [Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission] and the private cell phone operators in a meeting to discuss the matter. "Both BTRC and the private operators have assured us that the call charges will be reduced," he said.

Jatiya Party (Ershad) lawmaker Tajul Islam Chowdhury asked the minister to take steps to cancel the incoming call charges imposed by different private cell phone operators.

Replying to another question, the telecommunications minister said contracts of interconnectivity between the state-run mobile phone company Teletalk and the private operators will be signed very soon.

On reduction of the charges of the Teletalk, he said the charges will be adjusted from time to time.