Kamrul Hasan : Afroza Khanam Rita, a member of the advisory council of the BNP Chairperson and district BNP convener, has strongly demanded restoration of Manikganj district to four parliamentary constituencies.

She raised this demand on behalf of the common people of the district at a hearing on the rearrangement of parliamentary constituencies held at the Election Building in Agargaon in the capital on Tuesday (August 26).

Rita said that since independence, there have been four parliamentary constituencies in Manikganj district. That continuity remained until the 2001 elections. But before the 2008 national elections, the then government reduced one constituency in Manikganj due to political vendetta. As a result, the district was converted into three constituencies. As a result, the representation of the people of Manikganj in parliament became limited and the allocation for the development sector also decreased.

She said, “The people here have been deprived of their constitutional rights due to the reduction in seats. Their voting rights and participation have been reduced. This decision was taken for political purposes, so that the democratic power can be weakened.”

Afroza Khanam Rita alleged that BNP has always been strong and popular in Manikganj. And one seat was deliberately reduced to reduce that popularity.
She said, “They have always underestimated democracy and the verdict of the people. The seats here were reduced because BNP has always maintained its popularity in this region.”
She also said, “On August 5, the dictator was forced to leave the country in the face of the mass uprising of BNP-students-people. The current announcement by the interim government to ban all political activities of the Awami League proves that the nation has chosen a new democratic path against fascism.”
Rita called on the Election Commission and said that it is now the life demand of the people of the district to restore Manikganj to four seats based on size and number of voters as per the guidelines of the constitution and the commission. He stressed that this disparity must be removed before the upcoming election schedule is announced.

The demand for restoration of four seats among the common people of Manikganj has been a long-standing one. Local political leaders and civil society representatives believe that due to the reduction in the number of seats, the allocation for the development, education, health and infrastructure sectors of the district has decreased significantly. As a result, the people are practically being deprived.

Leading figures of the district BNP and all its affiliated organizations were present at the time.