The Parliamentary Caucus on Equity has called for ensuring justice in development initiatives. The caucus, comprising veteran and newly elected members of the 12th Parliament, also vowed to tackle social inequality and maintain justice in all areas in the future.
A meeting of this caucus was held on Monday (February 19) at Hotel Intercontinental. There, the nation’s journey towards Smart Bangladesh was highlighted with the egalitarian ideals of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the basis.
In the meeting, Justice Caucus Chairman and Member of Parliament Tanveer Shakeel Jai spoke about the need to increase technological advancement programs in the country. He also stressed on increasing global capacity through reforms in the education sector.
Tangail-5 Constituency Member of Parliament Md. Chanwar Hossain emphasized labor and immigration justice by revamping vocational training programs. The meeting also discussed important issues such as climate justice. Patuakhali-3 Member of Parliament SM Shahzada discussed the unequal impact of climate change on different communities.
Rajshahi-5 Member of Parliament Abdul Wadud Dara expressed concern about the impact of fundamentalism on social and cultural equality. On the other hand, Member of Parliament for Jamalpur-1 Noor Mohammad emphasized the importance of ensuring the fairness of education in achieving the goals of Bangladesh’s Vision-2041. He called for reforms to ensure access to quality education for all.
The meeting also discussed the rights of specially abled persons. Member of Parliament Arma Dutta urged to increase representation and other opportunities in accordance with the election manifesto of Awami League. In addition, former Member of Parliament and Justice Caucus General Secretary Mahzabeen Khaled emphasized the importance of multilingual education in combating the discrimination and injustice faced by local and expatriate workers.
According to the press release of the caucus, policies are needed to build a smart Bangladesh based on smart citizens, smart government, smart society and smart economy, through which not only the inclusion of marginalized people in the country will be ensured, but also their development will be ensured. These include expanding access to technology for all, increasing digital literacy across the board, making government services more transparent and leveraging e-governance to ensure accountability, and amending laws to protect digital freedom. It is also necessary to strengthen engagement with the caucus community and ensure that all initiatives are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring a holistic approach to development.
Saeed Ahmed and Shaheen Parveen of Institute of Informatics and Development (IID) also participated in the meeting.
Incidentally, the Parliamentary Caucus on Justice was established in 2021 on the personal initiative of the Members of Parliament known as the ‘Justice Caucus’.
