Abrar Hussain: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told parliament yesterday that there will be “no scope” to alter the existing 30% quota for freedom fighters in civil service.
Hasina, also the leader of the House, made the announcement while delivering her concluding speech at the budget session in Jatiya Sangsad, reported The Daily Star.
“Since the High Court has already decided that the freedom fighters’ quota is going to stay, how can we go against this verdict?” asked Hasina.
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque had echoed the same on Wednesday, referring to a 2015 Supreme Court order while briefing reporters at the Secretariat.
The minister added that there is an obligation to maintain the freedom fighters’ quota, but recruitment based on merit will be considered if eligible candidates cannot be found.
“If the government wants to modify the freedom fighters’ quota, it has to file a review petition with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. And if the judgment goes in its favor, only then it can make the changes,” said the minister.
Mozammel insisted that there is no scope for making any decision bypassing the court order, citing that not strictly abiding the 30% quota would be a contempt of court, adding that the HC observed that “if the quota cannot be filled up, the posts concerned be kept vacant.”