Bangladesh to begin budget session on June 10

The budget session for 2020-21 of the 11th Jatiya Sangsad (JS), or national parliament, will begin at 5:00 pm on June 10, according to a statement issued by the Parliament secretariat on Monday.

On June 10, the JS session will be held, as President M Abdul Hamid summoned the session exercising the power bestowed upon him as per Clause (1) of Article 72 of the Constitution, it said.

The JS business advisory committee will fix the duration of the upcoming eighth session. JS Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will chair it, reports state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency. 

The statement said journalists have been urged to cover the budget session through the Sangsad Bangladesh Television, which will broadcast the session live due to outbreak of the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19).

It said passes for journalists will not be issued to cover the budget session this year due to the COVID-19 spread. Journalists have been asked to collect their budget documents at 3:15pm on June 11, soon after placing the budget for 2020-21 in the House.

The statement, however, requested media authorities to assign only one person for collecting the budget documents from JS media centre by showing their accreditation cards.

Earlier, the 7th session of the JS was held on April 18. 

President M Abdul Hamid prorogued the session a little over an hour after it was called to comply with the constitutional obligations despite nationwide COVID-19 shutdown.