Jatri Kalyan Samity demands railways minister’s resignation

Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (JKS) on Sunday demanded the resignation of railways minister Nurul Islam Sujan for allowing unethical interference of his wife in his ministry's affairs, reports UNB.

Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, general secretary of JKS, placed the demand in a press statement.

He said the prime minister is constantly fighting against corruption and irregularities with the announcement of the zero tolerance policy against corruption, but irregularities and corruption in the ministries' works are now skyrocketing as a result of interference by some ministers' wives.

Many departments are now being held hostage by bureaucrats. Besides, the cost of the government's development projects in the communications sector is increasing. People's money is being looted, reads the statement.

JKS also questioned how the railways ministry, which generally runs at a snail's pace, could approve the dismissal order of Traveling Ticket Examiner (TTE) Shafiqul Islam at such short notice.

Earlier in the day, the railway minister Nurul Islam Sujan said that the order to suspend the TTE for fining three ticketless travellers on Dhaka-bound "Sundarban Express" will be withdrawn.

He also said that he felt embarrassed by the incident.

Shafiqul, who works at Bangladesh Railway's Pakshey division, was suspended on Friday, a day after he fined three individuals for travelling in an air conditioned coach without tickets, who turned out to be close relatives of the minister's wife.

The three lodged a complaint to the railway authorities accusing the TTE of "misbehaving" with them, and Shafiqul was promptly relieved of his duties. The minister's wife had placed a call to the DCO at Pakshey, who dismissed him.