Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq has said the government agrees in principle on quota reform and is ready to hold talks with the quota reform protesters. "Prime Minister has given me and Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury the responsibility to hold talks with them. We want to have talks with them whenever they want, if they want to hold talks today, we are ready to do this," the law minister said while briefing the media on Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban premises on Thursday (Jul 18) afternoon, local media reported.
"I want to call upon them, and request them to withdraw or suspend their movements," Anisul Huq added.
"The rule of law prevails in Bangladesh. Whenever any matter comes to the court, it gets disposed of in the court. Whenever the hearing over quota would start in the court, the state would propose to reform the quota system and it would get disposed of in court," Anisul added.
Mentioning that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had scrapped the quota system in government jobs in 2018, the law minister said the children of Freedom Fighters filed the writ petition with the High Court against that government circular.
"The students did not become a party in the case. They started raising movements for quota reform after the judgment of the High Court. We again called upon them to become a party in the case as the matter is pending before the court. We are again requesting them to stop this movement," the law minister further said.
