Opposition MPs to get Tk20cr each for constituency development: Fakhrul

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said opposition lawmakers would each receive around Tk20 crore for development projects in their respective constituencies.

Delivering a statement under Rule 300 of the Rules of Procedure in Parliament, he said, “The Prime Minister has granted around Tk20 crore from his discretionary fund for the constituencies represented by opposition MPs, excluding city corporation areas.”

He said the allocation would be used for the development of mosques, graveyards and Eidgahs.

Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, presided over the sitting.

Following Mirza Fakhrul’s statement, the Speaker said that despite serving in parliament for decades, including as an opposition member, he had never received such an allocation.

“I spent 40 years in this Parliament. I also served as a member of the opposition, but never received even a single penny. I was arrested five times and sent to jail. That is all I received - nothing else,” the Speaker said.