Businessmen MPs bar passing pro-people laws: Mizanur Rahman

Businessmen MPs bar passing pro-people laws: Mizanur Rahman

Staff Correspondent . Dhaka | Prothom Alo  Jun 30, 2019

Former chairman to National Human Rights Commission Mizanur RahmanThe parliamentarians serve the interests of the businessmen while passing laws as most of them are businessmen, said former National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Mizanur Rahman.

“Pro-people laws cannot be passed due to the businessmen. The MPs think only one thing – interests of the owners has to be protected,” he said.

Mizanur Rahman said this at a roundtable titled ‘Compensation to the victims of road accident: Necessity of safety insurance, formation of a separate fund and its management’ organised by Road Safety Foundation at the National Press Club on Saturday.

Former director of BUET’s Accident Research Institute Moazzem Hossain presented the keynote at the roundtable.

He said the road transport act passed last year mentioned forming a fund to compensate the family of the people killed in road accidents and the people injured. The fund will be run by a trustee board.

Moazzem outlined how the fund could be formed.

The former NHRC chairman, however, opposed formation of a fund for the road accident victims taking money from the poor people.

“The new fund would be another source of corruption. How many funds for corruption would be formed to burden people with more taxes?” he said.

“The state is responsible for ensuring security to its citizens. The government is responsible for forming a fund to help the victims of the road accidents,” he added.

“What kind of law is this that says about forming a fund taking money from people and labourers?” he posed a question.

Mizanur Rahman also said, “We’re living in a country where a person turns into a very important person (VIP) if the law does not touch him. Bangladesh has become a state for the rich people. It doesn’t think of the poor. This is clear in road transport act.”

The discussants at the roundtable also said there was no state-managed system for the treatment and rehabilitation of the road accident victims.

Road Safety Foundation chairman Mahbub Uddin Ahmed chaired the roundtable where Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation general secretary Osman Ali, Shyamoli Paribahan managing director Ramesh Chandra Ghosh, Prime Insurance Company Ltd managing director Mohammadi Khanam and Road Safety Foundation vice-chairman MS Siddiqui also spoke at the programme.