Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Secretary General Dr. Shafiqur Rahman has issued the following statement on 7th August, 2018 expressing deep resentment as the draft of Road Transportation Act, 2018 which has been approved in the cabinet meeting on 6th August has failed to meet the expectation of the students and the general masses.
“The students have taken to the street in line with the demand of ensuring road safety following the deaths of two college students in road crashes. Their protest movement has gained support from all quarters and subsequently spread across the country. Hundreds of thousands of students took part in this movement which continued for 7 consecutive days.
Initially the government did not create any major obstruction to this movement but later on they carried out unbearable oppression and crackdown against the protesting students. Chhatra League, Jubo League and Police attacked the students altogether. Police also fired tear shell mercilessly. On 5th and 6th August, the government backed hooligans assaulted the protesting students brutally and dispersed them. The guardians and the countrymen became shocked watching such barbarisms. I am vehemently condemning such oppressive policy of the government and demanding for judicial investigation into the incidents to identify the attackers in order to bring them to the book.
In the wake of the student movement, our fellow citizens expected that the government would accept the justified demands of the students and modify the relevant law. But the draft of Road Transport Act, which has got approval in the last cabinet meeting, recommend to increase the penalty of the drivers from 2 to 5 years of imprisonment. Even the draft ignored the instructions of the High Court as well. The penalty should be fixed as per the court directives.
The incumbent government is a voter less government. This government is not accountable to the people. So apparently, they claim to accept the justified demands of the students but the reality says something different.
I am urging the authorities concerned to meet the demands of the protesting students and to enact law as per the desire and expectation of the general masses.
