November 18, 2003	Tuesday	Ramazan 22, 1424

DHAKA, Nov 17: The Jatiya Party, headed by former president H.M. Ershad, did not join the session of parliament on Monday, the second day of the current session.

The JP faction, which is the second largest opposition party in parliament, staged an angry walkout on the opening day of the session on Sunday, in protest over a recent “false statement” allegedly by the state minister for disaster management.

The minister said there was no “famine-like situation” in the country’s northern districts, where most of the JP lawmakers come from, and the opposition legislators were politicking with the issue.