Bangladesh Speaker says he received death threats .
DHAKA 1996-08-27
The Speaker of Bangladesh 's parliament , Humayun Rasheed Choudhury , said he had received death threats from anonymous callers after opposition parties threatened to boycott proceedings chaired by him .
He told the Bengali newspaper Banglabazar Patrika on Tuesday that such threats were possibly coming from " those who want to push the country into chaos and unrest . "
The callers said his life could be cut short , the newspaper said .
The speaker was not immediately available for comment .
Choudhury , a former foreign minister and veteran diplomat , was appointed speaker of the 330-member parliament on July 13 , a month after general elections returned the Awami League of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to power after 21 years .
Choudhury also was president of the 41st session of the U.N. General Assembly in 1986-87 .
Former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia , now the opposition leader in parliament and head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( BNP ) , said her followers might boycott assemby sessions chaired by the " partisan " speaker .
" The ruling Awami league is making parliament ineffective and the speaker is contributing to that by not allowing the opposition MPs enough time to speak , " she told a rally in northern district of Bogra on Monday .
Hasina , speaking to a group of engineers in Dhaka on Monday , accused the BNP of resorting to " terrorism " as part of its plan to create instability and chaos in the country .
" This is not desireable ...
and we will deal with such designs sternly , " the prime minister said .