Govt brings quota issue to forefront to hide ongoing issues
City Desk :
Nurul Haque Nur, president of Gono Odhikar Parishad, has said that the government has brought the settled quota issue to the forefront using the court to hide the ongoing issues.
“The government’s main target is to hide corruption in the country, price hike of essential commodity and deal with India.”
Nurul Haque Nur said these things while talking to the Bangla Tribune on Thursday afternoon.
He was at the forefront during the countrywide quota reform movement from February to September 2018.
Nurul Haque was elected VP in the 2019 Dhaka University Central Student Council (DUCSU) election.
Later he was associated with the establishment of a political party called “Gono Odhikar Parishad.” He is currently serving as the president of the party.
Talking to Bangla Tribune, Nur said that the High Court declared the decision to cancel the freedom fighter quota system in the first and second-class government jobs illegal.
“It is very frustrating. The court has provoked a settled issue.”
“The quota system was canceled by the order of the executive department of the government, I want to say with full respect and trust to the court – this decision was the result of the agitation of ordinary students for eight months in 2018. During the agitation, the students suffered imprisonment, oppression and torture. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also announced the cancellation,” said Nur.
On October 4, 2018, the Ministry of Public Administration issued a circular to implement the Cabinet’s decision by abolishing the quota system for direct recruitment to first and second-class posts in government jobs.
Nur, one of the leaders of the anti-quota movement, said: “How can the court cancel the decision of the executive department to cancel the quotas in the first and second class job?”
“I am saying with respect to the court, it is the government using the court to bring forward the issue of quota cancellation for political gain. Besides, a hearing was scheduled to be held at the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today (Thursday). The court has upheld the decision of High court.”
The government has done this to divert the attention of the general public from the ongoing issues, he claimed.
“The anti-quota movement is a logical movement…Students are leaving the country because there is no competition for jobs in our country. This won’t happen if there is competition. Quota system needs to be canceled for the shake of the country.”
He also believes that the ongoing anti-quota movement of general students will not fail this time as well. The government will not be able to stop this movement.
“We who have protested against quota in the past days…we are all determined, the quota system cannot be kept in government job. If necessary, we will be in favour of this movement together with the former and the guardians.”
The students of various universities have been staging demonstrations for the past few days to protest against the reinstatement of the 30% quota system for freedom fighters in government jobs and reinstate the circular which canceled the quota system.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the High Court’s verdict that declared the decision to cancel the quota system, including the first and second-class freedom fighter quota in government jobs, illegal.
