Staff Reporter :
The High Court [HC] has issued a rule upon the government and the country’s registered political parties to explain in four weeks why blockade should not be declared unconstitutional.
In another rule, the court asked the government to show cause, why it’s inaction in imposing reasonable restriction on hartal and blockade, should not be declared illegal.
A HC division bench comprising Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman on Monday issued the rules upon 48, including secretaries of the home, finance and information ministries, Bangladesh Bank governor, and all the political parties registered with the Election Commission.
The court issued the rules after holding hearing on a writ petition filed by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry [FBCCI], Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association [BGMEA], Bangladesh Textiles Manufacturers and Exporters Association [BTMEA] and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association [BKMEA] on February 26. The political parties have also been asked to explain why enforcing of hartal and blockade without any prior notice within a reasonable time would not be declared illegal.
Not only that, both the government and the political parties have been asked to explain why it should not be directed to compensate the business organistions which have suffered financial loss due to hartal and blockade.
In the rule, the court also asked the government to answer why it would not be directed to waive the interest of the bank loan of the four business platforms from January 6 to till withdrawal of the ongoing shutdown.
The court also asked the government and the political parties to explain why they should not be directed to compensate the victims of hartal and blockade, why the government will not be directed to waive the interest of the bank loan of the four business organizations from January 6 till withdrawal of the ongoing shutdown.
The FBCCI, BGMEA, BKMEA and BTMEA presidents, who are the plaintiffs of the petition, were represented by Kamrul Haque Siddiqui and Imtiaz Moinul Islam at the HC while Deputy Attorney General Tapash Kumar Biswas stood for the state. According to a FBCCI estimate, the country’s economy has suffered losses of Tk 75,000 crore in 35 days, while the RMG sector suffered losses of about Tk 22,000 crore.
The ongoing destructive activities unleashed by the BNP-Jamaat alliance have so far caused a loss of over Tk 1.20 lakh crore to the country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told Parliament on Wednesday, on the 53rd day of blockade.
On February 15, the High Court ordered the government to take effective steps to stop the violence that has been going on across the country in the name of blockade and hartal.
