Describing the agitation and attacks following the announcement of Bangladesh Chhatra League’s (BCL) full panel as a “trivial matter”, Awami League acting General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif said it was nothing to be worried about.
His remarks came while speaking to the media at the party chief’s Dhanmondi office on Tuesday (May 14).
Soon after the 301-member full-fledged central committee was announced on Monday, upheaval broke out within the ruling party’s student affiliate.
“There are thousands of leaders and activist in Chhatra League and all of them are qualified who expected posts. But that’s not possible ... As far as I know, the Madhur Canteen incident was a trivial matter and there’s nothing to be worried,” said Hanif.
Hours after the announcement, at least 50 leaders and activists who did not get the desired posts, joined a press briefing at Madhu’s Canteen. Hundreds of BCL leaders attacked and foiled the press briefing, soon after it started.
Earlier on Tuesday, deprived BCL leaders gave a 48-hour deadline to reform the central committee or they will resign en masse.
The leaders held a press briefing on Tuesday on the Dhaka University campus and announced the decision. More than 200 leaders and activists from the BCL were present.
The BCL committee should be reformed within the next 48 hours, according to a statement read by former campaign secretary of the BCL Saifuddin Babu at the press briefing.
They threatened to go for a hunger strike and mass resignation if the demand is not fulfilled, said Nipu Tonni, who won the position of deputy cultural affairs secretary on the new committee. Tonni, former president of the Shamsunnahar Hall wing of the Chhatra League, is also a DUCSU member. Some known faces of the Chhatra League, including Farida Parveen and Lipi Akhter, were present at the press briefing.