MPs vent anger in parliament over harassment in correcting NID and birth registration
Several members of parliament have complained that ordinary people face severe harassment when trying to correct their national identity card (NID) and birth registration certificate.
The MPs raised the complaints during the question-and-answer session on the first day of the fourth session of the thirteenth national parliament on Monday (9 November).
Arifa Sultana, a member of parliament from a reserved women's seat, first raised the matter in parliament.
She said that even after submitting government documents such as SSC certificates, birth registration and proper citizenship certificates, local election offices repeatedly ask for a notary public, an affidavit or additional documents. This puts ordinary people through severe harassment, she said, adding that clear instructions are needed to stop the demand for unnecessary documents.
She further said that when an online application for NID correction is rejected, the system often does not state a specific reason. It is not even made clear which document is missing, as a result of which citizens have to apply again, paying the fee repeatedly.
She also asked whether it would be made mandatory to inform applicants of the specific reason for rejection through a notification or SMS.
Kamrul Hasan, the member of parliament from Mymensingh-6, also expressed anger over the harassment ordinary people face in correcting their NID and birth registration.
In reply, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam said that national identity cards are issued after verifying the information and biometric data given by a person at the time of voter registration.
He said NIDs are corrected after verifying the information stated in the secondary school certificate. However, an affidavit must be submitted when educational qualification is changed from a higher to a lower level, when a name or a parent's name is corrected differently from what is in the secondary certificate, and when the date of birth is changed.
Mir Shahe Alam further said that at present the reason for rejecting a correction application is recorded in the relevant file and system, and an SMS mentioning 'rejected' is sent to the applicant's mobile phone.
On the various complaints against the officials concerned, the state minister said the government is aware of them and is taking steps against the officers responsible.
