Awami League Presidium Member and former minister Matia Chowdhury has been elected the deputy leader of the House.

AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader proposed her name for the position at a meeting of its parliamentary party (ALPP) at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban last night.

The proposal was seconded by ALPP Secretary Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury Liton, also the Jatiya Sangsad chief whip.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting.

Some party leaders had assumed that Matia would become the country's next president. But AL President Hasina wants her to perform duties as the deputy leader of the House, party insiders said.

The post of the deputy leader of the House fell vacant after Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury died on September 11 last year.

A former presidium member of the ruling AL, Sajeda was appointed for the third consecutive term as the deputy leader of the 11th parliament.

The AL has been in power for three consecutive terms since 2009. The party now has an absolute majority in parliament.

From 2009 till her death, Sajeda had been the deputy leader of the parliament.

Matia, an MP from Sherpur-2, is also a former agriculture minister.

Names of veteran AL leaders Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Matia Chowdhury and Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim were discussed for the post after Sajeda's death.

There is no legal obligation to fill the post of deputy leader in parliament.

During the 2001-06 tenure of the BNP-Jamaat government, then prime minister Khaleda Zia did not appoint anyone to the post.

However, AL has always filled the post with a senior party leader.

BNP candidates for Manikganj-1 Khondaker Akter Hamid Dablu allegedly came under attack today.

Dablu claimed that criminals fired gunshots at his car twice in Ghior upazila town and Mohadevpur area of Shivalaua upzila while he was returning home from Daulatpur upazila nirbahi officer’s office this afternoon.

However, the two bullets missed his car, he said adding that he informed Manikganj police superintendent about the attacks.

Contacted, Rifat Rahman Shamim, superintendent of police in Manikganj, said that after investigation, police couldn't find any evidence of such incident.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said the entire leadership of BNP should step down as they failed to wage movement and win in elections.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, was talking to reporters after the board meeting of Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority at DTCA's auditorium.

BNP leaders are talking about country's democracy, yet there is no democracy in BNP, he alleged.

Quader also mentioned US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas, and requested him to ask why there was no democracy in the BNP.

"I would request you [Peter Haas] to ask those who come to talk to you about democracy and say that this government is destroying democracy, why there is no democracy in BNP. Ask that first. Why don't they hold councils?"