Dalit, Harijan deprived of constitutional rights: speakers

Speakers at a discussion in the city have said the country's Dalit and Harijan communities are deprived of their constitutional rights, though they have been given the constitutional recognition. They said this at the discussion, titled ‘Dalit and Harijan Communities’ Homeless Life and the State’s Action’, arranged by Human Rights Defender Forum in collaboration with European Union and Oxfam in the city. In his address as the chief guest, Abu Saleh Mohammad Sayeed, member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Public Works Ministry, said it is a huge discrimination that the members of Dalit and Harijan communities get only Tk 300-600 salary per month. If the stories of difficulties and deprivation of Dalit and Harijan communities are conveyed to the Prime Minister, the situation of these ‘backward’ communities will be improved, he hoped. Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal Barrister Taposh Kanti Baul, Oxfam project coordinator Saikat Biswas, Bangladesh Harijan Oikya Parishad secretary general Nirmal Chandra Das and Dalit Rishi Panchayat Forum convener Rajkumar Das also spoke at the programme, according to a news agency.