Members of the Bangladesh Municipal Councilors' Association have held a demonstration to press home their demand of reinstatement of all councilors who were removed following the fall of the Awami League government.
They held a human chain in front of the National Press Club on Monday in this connection.
One of the speakers said: "We have not worked for the interests of any political party. We have always worked for the people. If anyone has acted in favor of a party or committed any criminal offense, they should be removed. But what is our fault?"
At the time, the protesters said they will submit a memorandum to the Local Government Adviser demanding the reinstatement of all councilors.
Saiful Islam Madhu, president of the central executive committee of the municipal councilors' association and former councilor of Jhenaidah municipality, Zahidur Rahman, general secretary and former councilor of Natore municipality, along with leaders of the Central Executive Committee and councilors from various municipalities were present at the demonstration.
Saiful Islam Madhu, president of the association, said: "We did not become councilors through political affiliations, we were elected by the votes of ordinary people. Why should we be removed? Even after being removed, we are still performing our duties. Whenever anything happens, we receive calls asking for our help. The general public is suffering. They face trouble getting birth certificates, vaccination cards, national ID cards, and various allowances."
Zahidur Rahman, general secretary and former councilor of Natore municipality, said: "Some of us have been elected five times, four times, three times, twice, or once. If we only worked for a party, would people trust us enough to elect us? Mayors were elected under party symbols. We didn’t contest elections with party symbols. If any of us has worked for political interests instead of public interests or been involved in criminal activities, let them be removed. We won’t protest against that. But those of us who have worked for public interests should be reinstated."
He said: "A civil surgeon, DC (Deputy Commissioner), or magistrate won’t know the specifics of my area. They won’t understand the struggles, hardships, and needs of the people like I do. We have been removed, but people still come to us for birth registration, death certificates, or financial assistance at hospitals. We talk to the district administration to solve these issues. People want us back. So why this injustice against us? We will soon submit a memorandum to the Local Government Advisor with our single demand for reinstatement."
Other municipal councilors present said they want to return to their responsibilities to contribute to nation-building and serve the people once again. They demanded the cancellation of the removal order and their reinstatement.
On August 5, following the fall of the government, the Local Government Department issued a gazette notification on September 27 announcing the removal of general councilors and reserved female councilors from 12 city corporations and 323 municipalities.
