Police have used tear gas to disperse a gathering of protesters, seeking an amendment to the current quota system in the job sector, in front of the High Court.
An organization of students organized Wednesday’s protest at the “Shikkha Odhikar Chattar.” Numerous students from various educational institutions in Dhaka thronged the spot ahead of the sit-in program.
They brought out a procession to submit a memorandum to the Public Administration Ministry and paraded through the Dhaka University campus before coming in front of the High Court.
After police obstructed the procession, the protesters took a position at the “Shikkha Odhikar Chattar.” They announced to start an indefinite sit-in protest unless they receive any response from the ministry with half an hour.
The demonstrators announced a five-point demand including slashing the quota to 10% from the current 56%, not holding special exams to fill up quota posts, stopping the use of quota facility more than once and fixing same cut marks and age for all in government jobs.
Tanjir Toma, one of the protesters, said: “Our demand is to bring down the quota to 10%. Currently, 30% of the 56% quota is freedom fighter quota. This is discrimination.
“There are hundreds of thousands of us who are not getting any goods jobs despite trying hard. On the other hand, those enjoying the quota can get jobs by putting in less effort.”
When asked why police had lobbed tear gas shells, Md Ujjal Mia, another demonstrator, said: “Police suddenly started firing tear gas at us disrupting our peaceful protests.”
Dhaka Metropolitan Police DC Maruf defended their action, saying: “The High Court is a very important area. We told the demonstrators to leave the street and move but they did not.
“So, we fired tear gas to disperse them. Several of them have been detained.”