Dhaka, June 18: Bangladesh's main opposition parties, including Bangaldesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who have been boycotting Parliament for nearly a year, have decided to join the session at least for a brief period to evade losing their membership for uninterrupted absence in the house.Top opposition leaders, after an emergency meeting last night, have decided that their lawmakers would join `Sangsad' (Parliament) in order to save their membership which the ruling party is "planning to snatch away in collusion with the Speaker", citing continuous absence from the house for 90 days, opposition sources said today.The members of the four-party alliance, which command 130 plus seats in the 330-member house have been boycotting its proceedings to protest "government's inept handling of the administration" and calling for fresh polls, may enter the house any day, they said.Bangladesh Constitution stipulates that membership will be stripped off if anyone remains absent for 90 days in a row without furnishing valid grounds.According to data furnished by Speaker of the `Sangsad' Humayun Rasheed Chowdhury on the opening day of 18th session of the house on June 5, several MPs including BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, former president H M Ershad were nearing towards the ``danger mark'' of 90 days.It is apprehended that they might be stripped of the membership if the current budget session was prolonged and carried out till end of July.Besides losing membership, the opposition parties are also apprehensive of the ruling party that they might go for amending the Constitution to suit their desire by raising its strength through holding bye-election in the seats vacated by opposition due to their continuous absence.BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuyian told reporters after the last night's meeting of top opposition leaders that "alliance lawmakers would not allow anybody" to declare their seats vacant and insisted that atmosphere has not been created for their return to the parliament.Sensing opposition move Prime Minister Sheikh has in a renewed the appeal to her political rival to join Parliament and "say what ever they want to say", BSS news agency quoted her as telling a public meeting in North Bengal yesterday.Emerging from the talks, Ershad, leader of one of the factions of the Jatiya Party, told reporters, "we will not allow them (government) to amend the Constitution and implement their plan."The opposition began their boycott claiming they were not allowed to speak in Parliament, a charge which the Speaker has denied.The opposition alliance is compaigning to force Hasina to step down and hold fresh elections. She was elected for a five-year term in 1996 and general elections are likely sometime in the first half of next year.
