By Waliur Rahman BBC correspondent in Dhaka

The bonuses, for the prime minister, ministers, speaker and members of parliament would be to pay for house rents, various allowances, discretionary grants and other benefits.

If introduced the measures would be backdated to July 2002.

Senior ministers in the Bangladeshi Parliament had significant salary increases in 2000.

Government ministers presented four bills to parliament on Monday night seeking significant increases in allowances affecting more than 300 politicians.

Expense allowance

If approved, the increases - which range from 40% for the prime minister's house rent to 400% for an MP's office allowance.

The bills proposing the increases came just four days after Finance Minister Saifur Rahman proposed an expense allowance of 10% for government employees in the 2003-04 national budget.

Although the bills had originally been put before parliament last year they were withdrawn after facing stiff criticism from the opposition political parties.

Legislators in the main opposition Awami League rejected the government's justification for the proposed rise - that living costs had increased.

They say that when the masses are reeling under economic hardship and bearing the brunt of tax enhancement in the new national, it is unfair to increase house rents and other benefits of ministers.

They also argued that cost of paying the members of the Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's large cabinet high allowances would be borne by taxpayers.

But Local Government Minister, Abdul Mannan Bhuyian, said the Awami League was opposing the bill just for the sake of opposition.