Some noted personalities yesterday demanded inclusion of some provisions in Vested Property Return (amendment) Act-2011 bill, placed in parliament on Tuesday.

Thousands of the minority community are suffering for the last four decades as they have been deprived and subjected to social injustice regarding the issue of vested property. So necessary provisions should be included in the amendment bill, said a statement signed by academicians, human rights activists and cultural personalities.

Their recommendations include removing the properties, which the government acquired after 1978, out of the

acquired list and ensuring the right of partnership apart from successors claiming the vested properties, irrespective of gender.

They also called for scrapping the word "continuous" from “continuous citizen of Bangladesh” in the act to describe those claiming ownership of vested properties.

The signatories include Bangladesh Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad President Maj Gen (retd) CR Dutta, Ain O Shalish Kendra Executive Director Sultana Kamal, noted economist Dr Abul Barakat, former director general of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Kamal Lohani and human rights activist Khushi Kabir.