CHATTOGRAM Sept 19: The aggrieved students of Chattogram University (CU) unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League renewed their protest on the campus staging blockade and locking the university main gate on Monday.
The aggrieved activists who were kept out of the newly-formed CU unit once again launched protests on the campus, putting classes and examinations in jeopardy within one and a half month of their inclusion in the committee.
According to CU sources, the students blocked the main entrance to the university around 6:00am on Monday. The university's shuttle train service had also been suspended due to the blockade.
Sources said the agitators belong to five BCL sub-groups-VX, Banglar Mukh, Red Signal, Ulka, Epitaph and Concord-that are known as loyalists of AJM Nasir Uddin, general secretary of Chattogram city Awami League.
It may be mentioned that two units namely Chattogram North and CU units of Bangladesh Chhatra league have been constituted with controversial leaders that caused discontentment among all the BCL activists of Chattogram.
The protest movement of a section of BCL CU unit started on August 1 over the announcement of the 425-member committee by the ruling party's student affiliate.
The BCL factions had also protested over the same issue by blocking the university's main gate on September 11.
The protests had crippled Chattogram University as the authorities suspended shuttle services amid security concerns and also suspended classes and examinations.
Many controversial people have been named in the full committee, while qualified persons were overlooked. The aim of the demonstration is to press home the demand for the inclusion of qualified people. The blockade will continue indefinitely unless the protesters are assured of a solution.
The protesters alleged that many devoted leaders and activists of the Chhatra League were denied posts in this committee. They further alleged that 'non-students, drug addicts and BNP-Jamaat sympathisers have been included in the committee.
Meanwhile, a giant committee of BCL CU unit has been announced with 425 members including 119 as Vice Presidents. As per BCL constitution, a committee should be formed with maximum 151 with 21 VP for one year tenure on July 31 last.
The constitution of the organisation has been totally defied in CU and South District unit. Both the committees include non-students, drug addicts, married persons and accused of several cases.
The formation of those committees has created dissatisfaction among the students as well as the devoted BCL activists.
Meanwhile, on July 14 in 2019, Rezaul was appointed president of the unit and Iqbal Hossain as general secretary. They were tasked with forming a fully-fledged committee within a month of their appointment, but that did not materialise. Instead, it took three years for a new committee to be constituted.
