Oikya Parishad slams ‘poor’ allocation for religious minorities
Bangladesh Hindu-Bouddha-Christian Oikya Parishad yesterday condemned and expressed serious discontent over the poor allocation for religious minorities in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) in the proposed budget of the upcoming fiscal.
Oikya Parishad, a representative body of the country's religious and ethnic minorities, issued a press statement terming the poor allocation as a continuation of stark discrimination against the community.
The religious affairs ministry received Tk 15,054.03 crore under the ADP for the next fiscal's budget, of which Tk 290.08 crore is allocated for the projects related to religious minorities, reads the statement.
Of the Tk 290.08 crore, Tk 200 crore was originally allocated in 2017 and each budget mentioned the figure with the fresh budget, as the works under project have not been completed yet.
In budget, special allocations for religious majority community were made for development of their religious establishments and institutions, but no such allocation is made for Hindu, Buddhist and Christian communities, the organisation said.
They demanded Tk 5,000 crore allocation to eradicate the discrimination these minority communities are facing over the years. They also demanded of a separate ministry for religious minorities, similar to what exists in India and Pakistan.
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