The Democratic Rights Committee on Saturday presented 13 proposals to the interim government to restore stability and resolve the ongoing crisis in the country.
The proposals were presented in a meeting titled 鈥楾wo Months of the Interim Government: Review, Proposals, and Discussion鈥� organised by the committee at the Natmandal Auditorium of the University of Dhaka.
The meeting, chaired by former Jahangirnagar University Professor Anu Muhammad, was moderated by Salman Siddiqui, the president of the Socialist Student Front.
Researcher Maha Mirza presented the proposals on behalf of the committee.
She demanded that the list of those killed and injured ones in the recent student-mass uprising should be published.
She said that the government should take responsibility of the victims鈥� families, hold the killers accountable, and withdraw false cases.
The other demands presented in the programme include drafting a democratic constitution through a constitutional commission based on public opinion and taking immediate measures to stop mob violence, killings, destruction, and attacks on religious establishments like temples, shrines, mosques, and houses.
The demands also include repealing repressive laws such as the Cyber Security Act, the Special Powers Act of 1974, and the Workers鈥� Services Bill, and the laws that restrict freedom of expression.
The organization demanded to take necessary steps to reduce the prices of essential commodities like food, gas, electricity, and fuel.
The committee proposed to announce a national minimum wage for industrial workers.
They urged the government to ensure justice for the families of the murdered workers and compel employers to meet all legitimate demands.
The organization urged the government to implement the promise of not renewing rental and quick rental contracts, form a commission to ensure a farmer-friendly agricultural system and ensure equal inheritance rights for women.
Professor Anu Muhammad said that their 13 demands might seem 鈥榓 lot鈥� but the demands were not too much if the government would turn its attention to the people.
On the delay in compiling the list of injured and deceased people in the mass uprising, he wanted to know why it was taking so long though the government had so many resources.
He said that the government should take responsibility of the families of the deceased ones, rather than handing over a token sum of money.
Mujahidul Islam Selim, former president of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, Samina Luthfa, associate professor of the sociology department at Dhaka University, Sufi Philosopher Kazi Jaber Ahamad,聽Greater Chittagong Hill Tracts Hill Student鈥檚 Council president Angkon Chakma and filmmaker Akram Khan, among others, also spoke.
The interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus was formed on August 8, three days after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime amid the student-led mass uprising on August 5.
