Rumeen Farhana among three independent MPs skip oath for Constitutional Reform Council

Three independent MPs, including Rumeen Farhana of Brahmanbaria-2 (Sarail-Ashuganj and part of Bijoynagar), did not take oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council.

Although they were sworn in as MPs during Tuesday’s (February 17) ceremony at the National Parliament Secretariat, they declined the council oath.

Earlier, BNP had announced it would not take the oath until the council is formally included in the Constitution, with Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed noting that provisions for the oath could only follow constitutional inclusion.

Jamaat-e-Islami had earlier indicated it would also withhold parliamentary oaths if BNP skipped the council oath, though its members later took the MP oath.

The swearing-in ceremony began at 10:45am with Quran recitation, and the oaths were administered by Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin.

Normally, the parliamentary speaker administers oaths, but post-uprising conditions led to this arrangement.

Of the 300 parliamentary seats, 299 were contested last Thursday; voting in Sherpur-3 was postponed due to a candidate’s death, and results for two seats are under court injunction. BNP and its allies won 213 seats.