Increase allocation for minorities

"The Liberation War was fought under the leadership of Bangabandhu to establish equity, dignity and justice for all. But after 50 years of independence, religious discrimination is currently at an extreme level in the country," said Neem Chandra Bhowmik, president of Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad, yesterday.

He made the remarks while speaking at a press conference organised by the Parishad on the "budget disparity" of the religious affairs ministry.

While reading out a written statement, Parishad general secretary Advocate Rana Dasgupta said only Tk 304.93 crore was allocated for the ministry of religious affairs, excluding the operation cost.

"The total allocation rate for the religious majority is 97.87 percent, while the allocation for the religious and ethnic minorities stands at 2.13 percent only," he said. The figure was nearly the same as the budget for the previous fiscal.

Highlighting the picture of discrimination in the ongoing ministry projects, Rana said, "The total cost of the ongoing projects under this ministry is Tk 9,932.8 crore. Of which, 96.85 percent are allocated for the religious majority and only 3.15 percent for others. We thought that our situation will improve after the 2008 election. But the discrimination remains."