by Liakat Ali Badal in Dhaka Tribune 25 Dec 2023
Jatiya Party (JaPa) Chairman and party candidate for Rangpur-3 GM Quader claimed on Sunday that northern Bangladesh, the Rangpur region in particular, has been facing discrimination and deprivation in both political and development fields for a long time.
“The people of Rangpur have always faced discrimination in both politics and development as JaPa Party is the biggest political party of the northern region… the whole northern region has faced discrimination. This discrimination has not been resolved in these 52 years of independence,” GM Quader said at a meeting with businessmen at the Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry auditorium.
“In the future, if we go to parliament by the grace of Allah, we will try to play a strong role there and take our people from all walks of life, including businessmen, and put pressure on the government so that the rightful demands of the people of the Rangpur region are met.”
“Despite the Rangpur City Corporation being one of the largest city corporations in the country in terms of size, the allocation is smaller than other city corporations. This is another disparity for the northern region, especially Rangpur division. Another is that our Jatiya Party is highly discriminated against,” he said.
“Despite Mayor Mostafizur Rahman being elected city mayor twice, he has not been given any status till now. However, the mayor of the city corporation comprising one-fourth of the area of the Rangpur City Corporation has been given the status of state minister. It is also a form of discrimination. We spoke about this in parliament, but no initiative has been taken to address it.”
GM Quader continued: “Waterlogging is the biggest problem in Rangpur city now. Even a little rain causes waterlogging in most areas of the city.”
The JaPa chairman emphasized the need for a masterplan for Rangpur, saying it is essential for the city’s future development.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/election/334858/gm-quader-northern-bangladesh-facing
