Workers Party for scrapping Salim Osman’s JS membership

Workers Party of Bangladesh today demanded cancellation of Narayanganj lawmaker Salim Osman’s parliament membership and his arrest for “violating constitution and existing laws” by publicly humiliating a school headmaster.

The party, a key ally of the ruling Awami League, came up with the demand in a press statement.

Salim Osman humiliated Piyar Sattar Latif High School headmaster Shyamal Kanti Bhakta in a planned way and is now using religion cards to divert the issue, Workers Party said in the statement signed by party President Rashed Khan Menon and General Secretary Fazle Hossain Badsha.

The party said actions against the Jatiya Party lawmaker from Narayanganj-5 is imperative to uphold the social discipline, tolerance, non-communal democratic spirit, rule of law and the constitution.

Menon is civil aviation and tourism minister of the incumbent government while Badsha is a lawmaker from Rajshahi.

The statement said Bangladesh constitution allows all the citizens to practice their respective religions and any intervention on one’s right to practice his or her religion is in no way acceptable.

On May 13, Salim forced Bhakta to do squats holding ears publicly for his alleged comment demeaning religion, an allegation Shaymal rejected outright. Before that, Shaymal was beaten up by a mob.

It was not the end to the teacher’s sufferings as the school management committee on May 17 suspended him on the allegation of demeaning religion.

On May 26, a committee formed by the education ministry said in its report that the way Bhakta was suspended from the school was beyond relevant rules. A school student made inconsistent statements on whether the teacher said anything demeaning religion and hence the allegation may not be considered acceptable, the report said.