Writ seeks reserve seats for overseas citizens in parliament

A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking its directive on the government to take necessary steps to reserve seats for overseas citizens in parliament to ensure equal treatment for them.

Abul Kalam Azad and SM Rafiqul Islam, two Bangladeshi citizens living in the USA, submitted the petition to the HC through their lawyer Md Shofiqul Islam recently.

They also requested the court to direct the legislative and parliamentary affairs division of the law ministry to dispose of their application in this regard.

Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta, who received a copy of the writ petition, told The Daily Star that the HC is yet to fix any date for hearing of the petition.

The petitioners in their petition said reserved seats in parliament have been kept for women. But that's not the case for overseas Bangladeshi citizens, who are contributing to the country's economy by sending remittances, which is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

DAG Amit Das Gupta said secretaries at the legislative and parliamentary affairs division and law and justice division of the law ministry have been made respondents in the writ petition.

Earlier on October 5, petitioners Azad and Rafiqul submitted an application to the legislative and parliamentary affairs secretary to take necessary steps to reserve seats for them in parliament.