Hasnat Abdullah, Chief Organizer for the southern region and Member of Parliament for the Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP), recently expressed deep concern over the effectiveness of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance. He alleged that some ruling party members consider this important committee merely 'ornamental', as a result of which the committee is unable to perform its designated role properly. He made these serious remarks to journalists last Sunday (August 23, 2026) after the second meeting of the Thirteenth National Parliament's Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance, which has sparked new debate regarding the country's parliamentary process and financial good governance.
During this meeting, held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban and chaired by Committee President Mushfiqur Rahman, several important agendas were discussed. According to information provided by Hasnat Abdullah, a total of four issues were at the center of the discussion, including the structural reform of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), increasing the country's tax-GDP ratio, and enhancing the effectiveness of revenue management. He stated that although the Finance Minister and senior NBR officials showed a positive attitude on these matters, no specific decisions could be reached due to the alleged non-cooperation of some ruling party members. Analysts believe this deadlock could create obstacles in the formulation and implementation of the government's financial policies.
MP Hasnat Abdullah's accusations were also specifically aimed at the Chief Whip. He stated that the Chief Whip, despite not being the committee's president, made 'unwarranted interference' in the meeting of the Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance. According to him, ruling party members failed to show sincerity in the meeting and did not take the committee's work seriously, instead viewing it as a formal or ornamental gathering. Observers believe that such interference and inactivity question the independent functioning of parliamentary committees and obstruct the path of democratic accountability.
Hasnat Abdullah further noted that this is not an isolated incident. A similar situation was observed in the first meeting of the Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance in the National Parliament, where some ruling party members had stated they were 'not prepared'. The recurrence of the same scenario in the second meeting has raised questions about the committee's objectives and the good intentions of the ruling party members. Despite the Finance Minister's sincere positive stance, the inability to reach decisions on the agendas presents a disappointing picture of parliamentary proceedings.
Several important proposals were raised at the committee meeting to stop harassment of businesses, among which the creation of an integrated digital database was particularly noteworthy. Hasnat Abdullah stated that establishing this digital database among ports, banks, and the NBR would facilitate information exchange and make business processes more transparent and faster. Additionally, this NCP leader presented various proposals on expanding the tax net, increasing the capacity of Kamlapur Depot, and making overall revenue management more effective, which could contribute to the country's economic growth and the creation of a fair business environment.
Two other important issues were particularly emphasized at the meeting. Firstly, stress was laid on making the accounting and financial reporting system more transparent, modern, and effective. It was opined that increased accountability through this would further enhance work efficiency and effectiveness. Secondly, the necessity of introducing digital and automated systems to reduce reliance on direct contact for corruption prevention was highlighted. These steps are expected to not only curb corruption but also contribute to building a sustainable and corruption-free financial framework.
In addition to identifying or punishing individuals involved in corruption, the meeting emphasized changing or removing the processes or systems through which corruption occurs. It was stated that this would reduce business costs and harassment, simplify the business environment, and simultaneously increase government revenue collection. Furthermore, a detailed presentation was given by the NBR on its capacity to meet government expenditures, steps taken to reduce the tax-GDP ratio gap, and the determination of NBR's organizational structure and future actions. Committee members actively participated in discussions on the presented topics and expressed their opinions.
Committee members present at the meeting included Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Chief Whip Md. Nurul Islam Moni, MPs Md. Jalal Uddin, Moinul Islam Khan, Md. Shahadat Hossain, Md. Saiful Alam, and Syed Zainul Abedin, among others. Discussions have begun in political and economic circles regarding whether this kind of deadlock in the parliamentary committee will have long-term effects on the country's financial policy formulation and implementation. Hasnat Abdullah's allegations have raised new questions about the effectiveness of parliamentary committees and the accountability of ruling party members, which is extremely important for the country's democracy and good governance.
