Equality denied in constitution
Allege minorities
Bangladesh Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad and Bangladesh Adivasi Forum form a human chain with black flags in their hands in front of Jatiya Press Club in the city yesterday protesting constitutional amendments keeping Islam as the state religion. Photo: STAR
Members of three religious communities and indigenous people yesterday staged protests in the city, saying the latest constitutional amendment denies equality. In protest against the 15th amendment to the constitution, which was passed in the parliament Thursday, over 100 members of Bangladesh Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad and Bangladesh Adivasi Forum brought out a procession with black flags in their hands from Jatiya Press Club around 4:30pm. Police, however, obstructed the procession near Muktangon as it was marching towards Gulistan. Earlier, the protesters held a rally in front of the press club where speakers termed the latest amendment "religion based, discriminatory, and communal." With the passage of the amendment, the government has hurt emotion of the members of different religious and indigenous communities who nourish the spirits and ideologies of the War of Liberation, they said. They also said the government has betrayed again with the 2.5 crore people of different religious and indigenous communities through the latest amendment. Sector Commander Maj Gen (retd) CR Dutta, Bangladesh Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad General Secretary Rana Das Gupta, General Secretary of Bangladesh Adivasi Forum Sanjeeb Drong, among others, attended the programme.
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