The elected Upazila Parishad must run as per the law of the constitution and the directives of the Supreme Court.
President of the Bangladesh Upazila Parishad Association, Harun-ur-Rashid Hawlader, made the demand at a press conference at the National Press Club on Sunday.
In a written statement, he said that the people own the republic as per the constitutional directives. However, the employees of the administrative cadre of the republic have not followed the law and have made the elected Upazila Parishad ineffective.
This is not only a violation of the law but also negligence towards the employees of 26 cadres working at different levels. The employees of the administrative cadre are no longer following the law, read the statement.
“Today we have lost our work, dignity and credibility due to the illegal activities of only one cadre. Even though the High Court directed to reply within 10 working days, no reply was given, which is contempt of court,” said the president of the association.
He added that only 0.3 pc of the 65,000 local government officials was involved in irregularities during the pandemic. They have been removed due their actions. However, the Upazila Parishad Chairman, Vice Chairman and Women Vice Chairmen were verbally removed by an executive order because the employees spoke against the relentless violation of the law. This is completely unconstitutional.
In response to a question, he said, “We are not against the Upazila Nirbahi Officials. We want to work together with the people's representatives and the employees of the country in accordance with the law. But, executive officers are not respectful of the law.”
He further said that some DGs of some ministries have taken up responsibilities as Upazila Nirbahi Officers illegally. Through this they are making the chairman of the Upazila Parishad ineffective.
“The leaders of the association would visit the departments of the country from November 11 to resolve these issues. People of different classes and professions will be contacted regarding the matter,” he said while announcing the program.
If the notification is not issued by the cabinet department, then all the upazila council chairmen, vice chairmen, women vice chairmen and representatives of different levels of local government will be assembled in Dhaka on January 16 and a stricter program will be considered.
General Secretary of the Association Mohammad Saiful Islam Khan, Joint General Secretary Nur Hossain and others were present at the event.