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Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir has strongly condemned what it described as the exclusion of meritorious and qualified candidates from the final appointment gazette for the 49th BCS (Special) examination, alleging that the government is depriving them of their right to employment and pursuing the politicisation of the administration.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, Shibir central president Nurul Islam and secretary general Sibgatullah expressed their protest over the matter.
The leaders alleged that qualified candidates had been excluded from the gazette without any specific reason and that even candidates who topped the merit list had been dropped.
They also referred to allegations on social media that candidates with family or political links to Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizens Party (NCP), as well as qualified candidates with no political affiliation, had been excluded from the gazette.
“If these allegations are true, it is a warning sign for the country,” they said.
The Shibir leaders said the Constitution recognises every eligible citizen’s right to seek government employment on the basis of merit and qualifications.
They alleged that depriving citizens of government jobs because of their political views or ideological preferences would pave the way for what they described as an authoritarian system.
They said the July uprising had sought to end discrimination and establish the rightful place of merit. However, they alleged that the BNP government was politicising government offices and institutions and pushing the country towards what they called “a new fascist system”.
The leaders further alleged that recommendations had been made to increase viva voce marks by up to 400 per cent and that qualified candidates were being denied their rights in the name of verification.
They also alleged widespread politicisation of educational institutions, the judiciary, field administration and the Secretariat in favour of the BNP.
The Shibir leaders said excluding students from government jobs while keeping an opaque verification process in place amounted to playing with the aspirations of talented young people.
They demanded that the verification process be reformed to ensure that candidates excluded after verification are given specific reasons, an opportunity to defend themselves and the right to appeal. They also called for government recruitment to be based on merit, qualifications and transparency.
“We demand the immediate restoration of the constitutional rights of all qualified candidates who have been deprived and their appointments through a supplementary gazette without delay,” they said.
“Otherwise, the student community will be compelled to take to the streets in the struggle to establish the rights of merit and justice.”