Shawdesh Desk:

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday dismissed the movement against the quota system in the government jobs as irrational saying, ‘It is sub-judice.’

‘I don’t think there is any rationality for what is being done today in the name of movement by wasting the study time,’ she said.

The prime minister said this when the central leaders of Juba Mohila League paid a courtesy call on her at Ganabhaban on the occasion of its 22nd founding anniversary.

Juba Mohila League, an associate body of the ruling Awami League, was founded on July 6, 2002.

Referring to the recent judgment of the High Court against the abolishment of the quota system in the government jobs, Hasina said, ‘It is not right to wage a movement against the judgment of the High Court and it is a sub-judice matter.’

‘If the High Court delivers judgment on an issue, changes will have to come again from the High Court,’ she said.

The PM said that the government earlier abolished the quota system in 2018; but since then, people from different districts, remote areas and even women had been deprived of getting jobs in the last few years.

A large number of girls who used to get jobs due to the quota system in the past, did not get any opportunity in the past few years, she added.

Criticising the girls who are participating in the anti-quota movement, she said ‘Here I’ve a question. It needs to find the calculation that how many of the girls who earlier joined the movement in 2018 sat for the PSC examination and how many of them passed,’ she said.

The girls should prove first that a greater number of them qualified in the examinations, said the prime minister.

Talking about the universal pension scheme, she said the government introduced it for all in accordance with Awami League’s electoral manifesto.

The PM asked all politicians including the members of the Juba Mohila League to join the universal pension scheme for their safe old age life.

‘If they join, they would not need to depend on others and they wouldn’t be a burden for their sons and daughters in their old age’ she said.

AL president Sheikh Hasina said that Juba Mohila League had been struggling for establishing the rights of the country’s people from the very beginning of its foundation.

‘People have been voting the Awami League consecutively since 2008. We’ve been able to elevate Bangladesh to a higher position in every sector, including women empowerment,’ she said.

She said that Khaleda Zia was ousted from power on two occasions by the people for vote-rigging.

‘Khaleda Zia said with pride that she came to power through a voterless election held on February 15, 1996. But the people of Bangladesh ousted the thieves of votes. Within only one and half months, on March 30, 1996, she had been forced to step down,’ she added.

PM said that BNP again were ousted in 2006 from power as people didn’t accept their conspiracy to rig vote and the election (January 22, 2007 election) was spoiled.

The AL president asked the members of Juba Mohila League to raise the misrules of the BNP regimes before the people as well as to play a more active role so that their misrules cannot return again in the country.