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Move to increase JS seats has no justifiable ground

Roundtable told

Staff Correspondent
The move to increase the existing number of parliamentary seats has no justifiable ground and will put a heavy burden on the national exchequer without bringing any good to the people, speakers at a political roundtable in the city said yesterday.
"Attempt to increase parliamentary seats to fill the seating capacity of the House is not only arbitrary and illogical but also ludicrous, " ®he ^tar
said Mayeen Uddin Khan, executive president of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) while reading out a statement.
He said amendment to the constitution is of very high public interest and should be carried out only after political consensus, not unilaterally.
It's an undemocratic and unconstitutional attempt of the ruling coalition government to divert people's attention from Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)'s failure to honour its election pledges including separation of judiciary, formation of an anti-corruption body and electoral reform, said speakers at the roundtable
Prof Shamsul Huda Harun of Dhaka University said the grounds of population increase, demographic change and urbanisation put forward by the government to justify its move are not applicable to the present context of the country.
"The arrangement will put a heavy financial burden on the common people who are not in a position to shoulder any more taxes," said Awami League (AL) lawmaker and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Abdul Hamid.
He said salary, allowances and other unseen benefits for each lawmaker will amount to Tk 10,00,000 a year.
The government is contemplating increasing the number of parliamentary seats from 300 to 450.
In this context, Hamid said the 542 seats in Indian Lok Sabha were not increased although the population has shot up to over 100 crore.
He said the constitution does not provide any ground for the ruling party's justification to increase the seats on the pretext of population rise.
Journalist Ataus Samad urged the government not to rush through matters like constitutional amendment by dint of its two-thirds majority in parliament and thus avoid straying into the "dangerous path" of political highhandedness.
AL lawmaker Suranjit Sengupta termed the move undemocratic and unconstitutional.
Economist Kazi Kholiquzzaman stressed reforming the present political system which he said failed
to fulfil the constitutional obligation of creating equal opportunities for all. "The system benefits a minority group of people in the upper echelons of the society, deprives the majority and widens discrimination."
Harun-Ur-Rashid, a political science professor of Dhaka University, questioned the contextual relevance of the government's move ignoring the burning issues of price hike of essentials, insecurity in public life, electoral reform, separation of judiciary, forming anticorruption body and parliament's effectiveness.
"People have no interest in the proposed move for seat increase," said Workers' Party leader Mujahidul Islam Selim, "It will only benefit the ruling class."
Ayesha Khanam of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad called on all political parties to promote gender equality by facilitating effective participation of women in mainstream politics through direct election instead of reserved seats in parliament.
The JSD demanded that all longstanding issues of political, economic, electoral and parliamentary reforms be carried out on the basis of political and national consensus and through public debate before the next general elections are held.
AL lawmaker Rahmat Ali, Rashed Khan Menon of Workers' Party, Saifuddin Ahmed Manik of Gonoforum were also present among others.
The JSD organised the roundtable chaired by its President Hasanul Haq Inu.