Amid protests in Dhaka calling for reforms to quota in public services, which has now spread to other parts of the country, the government suspects a certain quarter is trying to use it to create instability.
Sources in the ruling Awami League say, three factors have been identified during a party meeting presided over by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday.
Senior leaders informed party chief Hasina that they suspect the student wings of the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami are instigating demonstrators to resort to violence.
Secondly, infiltrators in the Awami League’s student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), have joined the demonstration against the government.
Lastly, a portion of BCL activists, aiming to postpone the upcoming council, have also stepped up their efforts in the wake of the demonstrations.
According to highly-placed sources, Prime Minister Hasina also suspects conspiracy attempts in the wake of the quota reform protests.
During Sunday’s meeting of the party’s committee for nominating candidates in local government polls, she instructed leaders to run background checks on those behind the demonstration.
Senior leaders, who took part in the meeting, said on condition of anonymity that the government will take a hard-line approach over the demonstrators.
They, however, said the government now wants to pacify the movement by opening talks with the demonstrators.
Party leaders, as well as government officials, are set to meet representatives of the protesters.
As a part of that effort, General Secretary Obaidul Quader is scheduled for a meeting on Monday.
Scores have been injured on Sunday as police clashed with students and job-seekers demanding reforms to the quotas in public service turning the Dhaka University campus and the capital’s key intersection of Shahbagh into a battleground.
Running battles between protesters and police continued until the early hours of Monday at several locations of the campus.
Protests demanding reform of the quota system have been continuing for quite some time. Last month, police broke up their march to the Secretariat when several arrests were made.
Amid protests, the public administration ministry announced a decision relaxing it on Mar 6, but the demonstrations continued. The ministry later clarified the decision.
According to the quota system, 56 percent posts are reserved for different quotas, including 30 percent for children of freedom fighters, 10 percent each for women and particular districts, 5 percent for small ethnic groups, and 1 percent for people with disabilities.