Earlier in the session, Abul Hasnat Abdullah, senior joint coordinator of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and MP for Cumilla-4, raised allegations of nepotism in dealership distribution in a supplementary question. He alleged that dealerships were given to relatives of members of parliament. Calling the dealership distribution a festival, he asked whether the appointment process would be reviewed and when the culture of nepotism would end. In response, when the Agriculture Minister made positive remarks referring to fertilizer dealer appointments as a festival, opposition MPs started an uproar. At one stage, chaos broke out in the session hall. To control the situation, Deputy Speaker Barrister Kaysar Kamal intervened and called on MPs to calm down. At that time, drawing the Speaker's attention, the minister said, ‘I am a new minister. If I try to speak, side talks like this create difficulties. If you dislike my answer, ask another question, and I will answer.’
There has been a festival over fertilizer dealers; we also want it to be a festival: Agriculture Minister
Later, when the uproar stopped, the Agriculture Minister detailed in Parliament the administrative process of fertilizer dealer appointments. He said two separate committees were formed at the upazila and district levels for dealer appointments. At the upazila level, the committees worked under the leadership of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), and at the district level under the leadership of the District Commissioner (DC). Instructions were given to select candidates by following 100 percent of the strict policies and regulations sent from the ministry. Explaining the appointment process, the minister said that applications submitted to the DC office were sent to the upazila level. There, a committee comprising the UNO, upazila agriculture officer, the concerned block officer, and respected local persons conducted preliminary screening. Later, that committee's proposal was sent to the district committee. The district committee had scope for the local member of parliament to remain as an adviser.
The Agriculture Minister further said that at the district level, a committee of 6 to 7 members including the DC and district agriculture officer examined all proposals thoroughly. Later, based on the unanimous decision of all committee members, the names of the proposed persons in serial numbers 1, 2, and 3 were sent to the ministry. The list bore the joint signatures of all officials of the committee including the DC. He emphasized that the ministry gave final approval for dealership only to the person whose name was in serial number 1 of the list sent by the district committee. The appointments were not made by the signature of any single individual. Dealer appointments were completed based on the recommendations of the relevant committees through a completely institutional and transparent process.