The Democratic Students’ Alliance, a combine of seven student wings of left-leaning political parties, on Wednesday protested at the exclusion of 168 candidates from the 43rd final gazette of Bangladesh Civil Service.
During a press conference held at Dhaka University’s Madhu’s Canteen, the alliance demanded reconsideration of the decision.
Rafiqujjaman Farid, the coordinator of the alliance and general secretary of Socialist Students’ Front, read a written statement at the press conference.
In the statement, he highlighted that among the 168 excluded candidates, 71 were from Hindus or Buddhists, 42.26 per cent of the total excluded individuals.
Expressing the alliance’s deep concern over the matter, he said, ‘We have observed with concern that in the revised gazette, many previously qualified candidates have been excluded without any clear allegations or evidence of wrongdoing.’
Such decisions should not be based on an individual’s religious identity, political bias or any other discriminatory and undemocratic grounds, he noted, demanding that the actual qualifications of candidates not be questioned under any circumstances and that no one was treated unfairly.
Citing data from the public administration ministry, the statement noted that approximately 26 per cent of approved government positions, equating to nearly 500,000 posts, were remain vacant.
‘However, the interim government has failed to take adequate measures to address this crisis, even after the uprising,’ he mentioned.
The DSA urged the interim government to reconsider the gazette with sensitivity and publish a revised result, and called upon students and youth to intensify their struggle for an inclusive, discrimination-free and democratic country.
Dilip Roy, president of the Revolutionary Students’ Unity; Rageeb Nayeem, president of the Bangladesh Students’ Union; Saiedul Hoq Nissan, president of the Democratic Students’ Council, among others, were present at the press conference.
Meanwhile, some of the excluded candidates from the final gazette held a sit-in in front of the secretariat in the afternoon, demanding their inclusion in the gazette.