Professor Mia Golam Parwar, Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, said that the upcoming elections should be held through proportional representation system.

He made this comment as the chief guest at the workers' conference organized by the district Jamaat at the Patkelghata football ground on Monday (January 27) afternoon.

Highlighting the advantages of proportional representation system, Mia Golam Parwar said that this system ensures qualified representation. There is no alternative to this system to get qualified members of parliament. Besides, vote-splitting and black money games are also stopped in this system. In this system, no individual candidates are candidates. It will be determined on the basis of how many votes a party gets, how many MPs of which party will be elected.

He also said that there is a conspiracy against Bangladesh from India. Coup-counter-coup, judicial coup, Ansar coup are all happening. Among these, there is a conspiracy against Jamaat. Another political party is trying to establish the fallen fascists politically. If Jamaat, BNP and other political parties vote together, Awami League can be expelled from the political arena.

Commenting that some people are speaking the same language that fascists used to speak today, Golam Parwar said, their language smells of fascism. They should stop speaking the language of fallen fascism. The people of Bangladesh will never accept fascism. We all want to move on the basis of consensus. The countrymen should build national unity in the spirit of August 5 for this purpose.

He said, the 18-year history from October 28, 2006 to August 5, 2024 was a dark era of independent Bangladesh. During this era, we did not have democratic rights, voting rights, economic rights, and people did not have fair justice in the courts. Our nationhood has been destroyed by destroying the education system. Our Islamic values have been systematically destroyed. This is how the murderous fascist Hasina has taken away all our rights. For this reason, Sheikh Hasina will be marked in history as a vile and despicable fascist.

Dhaka: Commenting that additional VAT is better than paying money under the table, Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said, we will reform some important things. I remember that I once took a telephone line by paying a bribe of Tk. 20 thousand. We will reform so that we do not have to pay bribes.

He said these things as the chief guest at a seminar titled Reforms in Customs Income Tax and VAT Management to address the LDC Graduation at the NEC Conference Room in the city on Monday (January 27).

He also said, we will reform taxes, policies and VAT. Many are talking a lot about VAT, we will reform it.

Explaining the rationale for charging additional VAT, the Finance Adviser said, even if additional VAT is paid, there will be benefits from other aspects. Businessmen will not have to pay additional money in a few places in various sectors.

He also said, it will be limited to VAT only, we are doing that work. But now the Dhaka-Bogura truck fare has also decreased. Be patient. We are charging additional VAT to Matarbari Port. We are spending money on development projects. We will not burden our pockets with VAT. We are working for the people.

Chuadanga: Hasnat Abdullah, convener of the anti-discrimination student movement, said, "A political aspiration is being created among the young generation. We have seen that our senior leadership has failed to understand the language of our young generation. They have failed to understand the humanity of our youth. They have failed to understand the words of our youth. There is a distance between the thoughts and consciousness of our youth, our psychology. Where the seniors think that using mobile phones is the mastermind of destruction, we have seen that our mass uprising alliance was formed through this social media."

Hasnat Abdullah said these things at the Chuadanga Shilpakala Academy's Muktamancha Chuadanga Rising program organized by the Chuadanga Citizens Committee on Monday (January 27) at 4:30 pm. He also said, "Our senior politicians were compromisers. We have seen that we have information about who compromised with Sheikh Hasina in the three elections. Who had business relations with the Awami League, the murderer Sheikh Hasina. Who had kinship relations with the murderer Sheikh Hasina. We know these things. So, those of you who are thinking about the rehabilitation of the Awami League, leaving aside the trial of the Awami League, you are brokering with this young generation.’

Hasnat Abdullah said, ‘We know who had kinship relations with the Awami League. Some are brokering to rehabilitate the Awami League. They are thinking about whether the Awami League will remain in the next election or not. But they are not saying anything about the punishment of the Awami League. Hasina-Awami League cannot buy us. They cannot buy us by giving us seats in parliament. We have to maintain the political awareness that has been created among our young generation. Please do not become power-hungry. Those who have come to power have had to flee the country.’

He said, ‘Whether Awami League will contest the elections or not is a discussion later. First, murderers Hasina, Obaidul Quader, Asaduzzaman will have to be tried. The Awami League committee list will have to be tried. Then there will be a discussion on whether Awami League will contest the elections or not. First, raise demands from political parties to ensure justice. Awami League has looted our country’s money and smuggled lakhs and crores of taka abroad.’

Hasnat Abdullah urged the students to remain united and said that if the student community of this country works together, it will not lose to the forces that manipulate tyranny. Never forget those who have been victims of Awami League’s oppression. The sacrifices of these students, who gave their lives on the streets, will help build our future. He also said, ‘You don’t need my political division. We will build the next Bangladesh. The fascists benefit from our division. We have to be united to prevent the Awami League from resettling.’

Hasnat Abdullah said in reference to Chuadanga district, ‘There has been no infrastructural development in Chuadanga. There is no alternative to educational institutions for development. There has been no significant educational institution in Chuadanga. We expect that the interim government or whichever government comes will have to give importance to the development of education.’

He also said, ‘But you are on the side of Chuadanga. Even if you resist, they will have to go to Dhaka. You will enter in pieces, be careful. Those who voted in the three elections during the Awami League period, they voted 30-40. And those who could not vote, they could not vote at all. You have had to go through torture for the last 16 years. The name of the murderer Sheikh Hasina will be written in history due to the genocide.’

The program, chaired by Aslam Hossain Arko, convener of the Chuadanga District Committee of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and conducted by Member Secretary Saffatul Islam, was addressed as special guests by Nusrat Tabassum, central coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Molla Ehsan, central international cell member of the National Citizens Committee, Babu Khan, central co-coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Imtiaz Ahmed, convener of the Meherpur District Committee of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Mustafizur Rahman, member secretary of Kushtia District, and SM Ashraf Sweet, member of the Islamic University, among others.

Dhaka: Bangladesh Railway running staff have gone on strike as the issues of pension payment and gratuity by adding running allowance to basic salary have not been resolved. This has halted rail services across the country.

As part of the strike, the running staff did not board the scheduled trains after 12 midnight on Monday (January 27). As a result, no train left the starting station. The running staff includes train drivers, guards and ticket checkers.

Earlier, a notification signed by the General Secretary of the Railway Running Staff and Workers Union, Md. Mojibur Rahman, said that the running staff will be entitled to running allowance as per the Railway Establishment Code Volume by amending the terms of the appointment letter, but it has been said again that the amount of monthly running allowance will not be more than the basic salary. There is no limit on the availability of running allowance in the Railway Establishment Code volume, as much as you work, you will get running allowance as per the law.

The notification further said that there is no scope for imposing fabricated conditions on Bangladesh Railways, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Railways, and Bangladesh Railways are all regulated by the laws of Bangladesh. We will accept some parts of the law, we will not accept some parts, doing such a thing is illegal.

The notification further said that demanding the cancellation of discriminatory conditions, if an order is not issued in the light of the Railway Code and rules and regulations, canceling the discriminatory conditions of the appointment letters of the newly appointed running staff and the Ministry of Finance's letter of January 23 that conflicts with the Railway Act, all running staff will be forced to observe an indefinite strike from January 28.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Railways has called on the railway running staff to withdraw the announced program. The public notice sent by the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Railways, Rezaul Karim Siddiqui, said that Bangladesh Railways and the Ministry of Railways are quite sincere and making every effort to fulfill the demands/demands of the running staff. In the meantime, the demands of the running staff have been sent from the Ministry of Railways to the Ministry of Finance. In addition to correspondence, bilateral discussions are also ongoing in this regard.

As a result of the sincere efforts of the Ministry of Railways, their running allowance has already been increased from 75 percent to 100 percent. In addition, the conditions of minimum 8 hours and 100 miles distance to get mileage allowance have also been relaxed. The Ministry of Railways is quite sincere and making every effort to realize other demands of the running staff.

In this situation, a sincere appeal is being made to all railway officers/employees to withdraw the previously announced programs and continue the normal activities of the railway.