Bangladesh minorities submit 7-point demand earlier than PM Sheikh Hasina searching for rights, safety

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council marched to Dhaka because the organisation sought to make sure safety of the minority communities.

The street march began from Ramna kali temple and ended at Shahbagh. (Image: India Today)

By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: Minority unity led by Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity (Oikya Parishad) got here to Dhaka and submitted a seven-point demand to the prime minister’s workplace. The memorandum sought enactment of a minority safety act and formation of a nationwide minority fee, amongst different calls for.

The group sought to make sure the safety of the minority group. The entrance leaders delivered a memorandum to the prime minister’s workplace after a rally in Shahbagh on Saturday. Advocate Rana Dasgupta, basic secretary of the group, stated that he’s optimistic that the PM would settle for the memorandum.

The seven-point calls for are:

Enactment of Minority Protection Act
Formation of National Minority Commission
Enactment of Elimination of Discrimination Act
Enactment of Interstate Property Conservation Act
Return of Vested Property Act
Proper implementation of Hill Peace Treaty and Hill Land Commission Act
Formation of separate Land Commission for Plains Adivasis.

Earlier, Rana Das Gupta had requested everybody’s cooperation to advance this motion to guard human rights in opposition to non secular discrimination.

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The 2018 election manifesto of the ruling Awami League had these seven-point demand. But the minorities of the nation allege that the ballot guarantees haven’t fulfilled.

Earlier, leaders and activists of assorted organizations from totally different components of the nation got here to Suhrawardy Udyan, adjoining to Ramana Kali mandir, in Dhaka. They took up slogans of ‘the religion belongs to everyone, the state belongs to everyone, Padma-Meghna-Yamuna, your address is mine, form a minority commission!”

Mahila Oikya Parishad president Supriya Bhattacharya said in the rally, “We have been presenting seven-point demands for a long time. In 2018, the government assured us in the election manifesto, but no point has been implemented yet. We want immediate implementation of our demands. We no longer want to be neglected, to be oppressed. We do not want a communal state, we want a secular state!”

RALLY BY MINORITY COMMUNITY

The road march started from Ramna kali temple and ended at Shahbagh. From there, the leaders of the organization went to the prime minister’s office.

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When the road march reached the Shahbagh National Museum, the police held a discussion with the leaders and activists of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Parishad. Following this, a committee of seven members, headed by one of the presidents of the council, Nim Chandra Bhowmik, decided to go to the prime minister’s office to give the memorandum.

TORCH MARCH TO BE HELD IN FEB

At the end of the road march, Rana Dasgupta spoke about the rationale for implementing the seven-point demand.

“There is only one year left for the 12th parliamentary elections. However, no initiative has been observed to implement the minority tribal interest-friendly promises of the government party’s 2018 election manifesto, which is very disappointing for the religious-ethnic minorities and tribal of this country,” he said, reading the organisation’s declaration.

In order to implement the seven-point demand, the group had collected signatures from 2.5 lakh folks, in addition to held a mass starvation strike programme.

At the rally, the organisation additionally introduced that it’ll conduct a torch march program on February 24 in any respect divisional headquarters, district-upazila and union ranges with a purpose to speed up the demand for the implementation of the election guarantees of the ruling celebration.

GROUP SEEKS IMPLEMENTATION OF DEMANDS BEFORE POLLS

The three-page memorandum given to the prime minister highlights the assorted initiatives of the federal government to make sure equal rights for all residents, together with the minority communities.

“The minority community has been subjected to various forms of discrimination, torture and oppression due to the coming to power of the government against the spirit of the Liberation War and the communalization of the constitution,” the memorandum learn.

The organisation lauded current Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for coming ahead to guard the minority group after the atrocious violence from 1990 to 2001.

The memorandum additionally cited incidents of communal assaults on members of minority communities because it sought implementation of the seven-point demand earlier than twelfth parliamentary elections.

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Published On:

Jan 10, 2023