Job aspirants and students who have been demonstrating across the country demanding abolition of quotas, barring a maximum of five per cent for children of freedom fighters, minorities and disabled, on Sunday handed over a memorandum to President requesting him to convene an urgent session of parliament to pass a law to reform quotas in all grade government jobs.
A twelve-member delegation, representing them,submitted the memorandum to the President at Bangabhaban in the capital.
Presidents Military Secretary Maj Gen Mohammad Adil Choudhury received the memorandum and assured the protesters of handing the memorandum to the President, coordinators of the Anti-discriminatory Student Movement told the Daily Observer.
The delegation entered Bangabhaban at around 2:35pm and left it around 20 minutes later.
Thousands of students of Dhaka University (DU) gathered in front of the universitys central library at 11:00am to march to Bangabhaban to hand over their memorandum.
The police obstructed the students at various points before the delegation reached Bangabhaban.
The police had set up barricades at Gulistan Intersection.
The police stopped the marching students by setting up barricades at Zero Point at around 1:30pm.
The students broke the police barricade and marched to Bangabhaban at around 1:50pm.
The marchers waited in front of Gulistan Shopping Complex at around 2:10pm, and their representatives went to Bangabhaban.
Students of Jagannath University and seven DU affiliated colleges had joined the march.
The protesters warned that they will launch tougher movement if the police do not withdraw cases filed against them on the charge of breaking the law and resorting to vandalism within 24 hours.
Meanwhile, students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) staged a protest march and solidarity rally on Sunday morning, condemning the police attacks on students and filing of cases against them.
The march began at 11:30 am from in front of the JU Central Library and in a procession paraded various roads on the campus.
The march over, students held a solidarity rally in front of the main gate close to the Dhaka-Aricha highway.
Two university teachers attended the rally, to express their support to the students movement.
Hasnat Abdullah, one of the coordinators of the Anti-discriminatory Student Movement, told the Daily Observer that the ongoing student strike to boycott classes and examinations will continue for an indefinite period.
However, the protesters gave no programme for today.
Since July 1, job aspirants and students of public universities and colleges have been demonstrating to press home their demand to reform quotas in government jobs, by blocking highways and railways and key intersections in the capital.
The protests began after the High Court Division gave a verdict on June 5, restoring quotas in government jobs.
The government appealed against the HC verdict and the Appellate Division issued a rule on July 10, imposing status quo on the HC verdict for one month.
