Md Khairuzzaman Sajib,   Special Correspondent, Dhaka

Mohammad Ali Asgar, ruling-party lawmaker from the Khulna-5 constituency, has been given a new responsibility in the 13th National Parliament. He has been appointed chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Railways.

He assumed the new responsibility on Tuesday (September 8) after Parliament passed a proposal by voice vote to form five new parliamentary standing committees.

On the day, Chief Whip Md Nurul Islam Moni placed proposals to form five parliamentary standing committees and reconstitute two others. The proposals were subsequently passed by voice vote.

Four other parliamentary standing committees were also formed in the 13th Parliament on the same day. The five newly formed committees are those related to the Ministries of Social Welfare; Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment; Railways; Science and Technology; and Health and Family Welfare.

With the formation of these committees, the total number of parliamentary standing committees formed so far has reached 45.

As chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Railways, Mohammad Ali Asgar will lead parliamentary oversight of the ministry’s activities, policies and various programmes.

Mohammad Ali Asgar has been involved in BNP politics for many years. In the latest national election, he won the Khulna-5 constituency by defeating Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar.

Earlier, Ali Asgar was also elected a member of parliament from the Khulna-2 constituency in the 2001 national election.

The National Parliament has a total of 50 parliamentary committees, including 39 ministry-related standing committees and 11 subject-based parliamentary committees. With the formation of five committees on Tuesday, 45 committees have now been constituted.