Protest erupts at Dhaka University over PM’s quota remarks
NN Online Report:
The quota reform activists have launched a fierce protest at Dhaka University on Sunday night, claiming that they were insulted by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s remark.
The student protest came in response to the prime minister’s speech on the quota reform movement at a press conference on Sunday afternoon.
Starting from 11pm, students from various halls continued chanting slogans one after another.
By around 11:30pm, students emerged from different halls and began marching towards Raju Sculpture, initiating a protest rally.
During this time, they chanted slogans such as “Who are you? Who am I? Razakar, Razakar” and “This land of Bangla belongs to Razakars”.
Even female students joined the procession, ignoring the hall administration’s directives.
Meanwhile, three leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of ruling Awami League, have resigned from their posts, reports Prothom Alo.
The students are Masum Shahriar, public relations and development secretary for Faculty of Social Sciences of Dhaka University, Ratul Ahamed Shraban, deputy secretary of Liberation War and research affairs for Education and Research Institute, and Ashiqur Rahman Jim, library and publication secretary for Faculty of Law.
The protest comes hours after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a press conference in Ganabhaban questioned the merit behind the demand to abolish the quota system for government jobs pressed forth by students of various government universities currently participating in their movement.
“If the grandchildren of freedom fighters don’t get quota benefits, will those then go to the grandchildren of Rajakars? That’s my question, the countrymen’s question,” she said.
The High Court, in the full text of its 5 June verdict centring the 2018 circular which abolished the quota system, said keeping the 30% quota for children of freedom fighters was binding upon the judiciary and also the state machinery as the issue was already settled by the Appellate Division in 2013.