Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad (BHBCOP) on Monday demanded a quota of 60 general parliamentary seats for the representation of religious and ethnic minority groups in the Jatiya Sangsad.
The demand was placed at a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the city.
BHBCOP General Secretary Advocate Rana Das Gupta in his written statement said the proposed quota would be manned for general seats only and it would be possible for political parties to accommodate representations from all minority groups under the new formula.
According to Advocate Das, minorities account for around 20 million or 12.5 percent of the country’s 160 million total populations, but their proportional representation is not upheld accordingly.
As a result, he said, the religious and ethnic minorities face discriminations and deprivations. Bangladesh, with Muslims being the majority, has also three major religious minority groups-Hindu, Buddhists and Christians and 54 other ethnic minorities.
Among the minority groups, Hindus constitute 10.00 percent, Buddhists 1.00 percent, Christians 0.50 percent and ethnic minorities less than 1.00 percent.
The current 10th Jatiya Sangsad has 18 Member of Parliament (MPs) from minority groups and all belong to ruling Awami League, except one as independent.
In addition to the 18, there is also one more female MP, who got elected under reserved seats for women.
Presidium Member of BHBCOP Kajal Debnath told BSS that as per the current size of minority populations, they were suppose to ask for 30 plus seats in the parliament but they have been claiming 60 seats based on the size of the minority populations of 1971.
He said a newly independent Bangladesh had around 21 percent of minority populations in 1971 and the national spirit of the ‘war of independence’ should be the baseline for ensuring all social and political justice- even at now.
Bangladesh parliament or the Jatiya Sangsad has a provision for 300 general seats through direct elections and 50 reserved seats for women through selections or indirect elections.
The Jatiya Sangsad has now passing through its 10th term now and it would come to an end in January 2019 after five years.
