President Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday summoned the 19th session of the House at 5:00pm. The Business Advisory Committee headed by the speaker will sit prior to the session to allocate its business.

The main opposition Awami League (AL) has not yet decided whether it will join the session. Senior leaders of the party said they would take a decision on it later.

Lawmakers of the second largest opposition party in parliament, Jatiya Party, said they will demand a discussion on the August 17 bomb blasts.

The AL has been boycotting parliament sessions from last year protesting the ruling coalition's refusal to discuss the August 21 grenade attacks on its rally, adjourning other businesses of the House.

"I will submit notices demanding discussion on August 17 countrywide bomb blasts at the beginning of the coming session, adjourning other businesses," Jatiya Party lawmaker GM Quader yesterday told The Daily Star.

If the ruling alliance does not agree to that, he will submit notices for a general discussion on the incidents, he added.

The previous session of parliament was prorogued on July 10 and it is constitutionally mandatory for the House to sit again by September 8.

AL LAWMAKERS MEET SPEAKER
Three AL lawmakers yesterday demanded that the speaker initiate steps for holding a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs that did not sit in the last four months, flouting the rules of procedure of the Jatiya Sangsad.

The rules of procedure say every parliamentary body will sit at least once a month and the speaker will initiate steps if any committee fails to meet the obligation.

AL lawmakers had earlier submitted another letter to the speaker for holding the committee meeting. "I sent a letter to the speaker on July 31 but no step was taken as yet," AL legislator Mohammad Nasim, also a member of the parliamentary body, told reporters after yesterday's meeting with the speaker.

The committee held its last meeting on April 28 and its chairman gave assurance that the August 21 grenade attack would be discussed at the next meeting, Nasim said. "(But) the chairman did not convene the committee's meeting after April 28."

On the opposition lawmakers' demand yesterday, Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar told reporters that he would initiate steps if the committee did not sit regularly without unavoidable reasons.