Students stage protests on DU campus at midnight
Quota reform protesters have been holding demonstrations on Dhaka University campus storming out of their residential halls on Sunday night.
The protesters allege that a comment made at prime minister Sheikh Hasina's press conference today demean the protesters who have been demonstrating for quota reform in government jobs.
The protesters at Chittagong University also launched a demonstration simultaneously which came under attack by Bangladesh Chhatra League men.
The students on DU campus started protests at different residential halls at around 10:00pm on Sunday. They started to gather at the Raju Sculpture area on the campus at around 11 in the night. Within an hour, a huge number of students swarmed the TSC area.
Alongside male students, a large number of female students also brought out processions from Fazilatunnesa Mujib hall, Shamsunnahar hall and Rokeya hall.
A student of Kuwait Maitree hall told Prothom Alo, “We have been insulted, ridiculed for speaking up against the existing unjust quota system. None can do it. We have gathered here in protest. Nobody has the right to insult the students.”
Anti-discrimination student movement's coordinator Nahid Islam told Prothom Alo that they did not call the programme, rather the students came out sponteneously.
As the students started coming out of the halls, BCL leaders took position at hall gates to block the protesters.
Rifat Rashid, one of the coordinators of the platform that is organising the movement, alleged that a leader of the platform named Asif Mahmud came under attack by BCL men at Bijoy Ekattor hall. Asif Mahmud went to the hall after being informed that BCL men were obstructing the students.
Meanwhile, three leaders of AL's student wing BCL have resigned from their party posts tonight by posting on Facebook. They are Masum Shahriar, public relations and development secretary of the social sciences faculty of DU, Ratul Ahmed alias Shrabon, deputy secretary liberation war and research affairs of Institute of Education and Research, and Ashiqur Rahman alias Jim, library and publication secretary of Law faculty.
The leaders and activists of BCL from different parts of Dhaka city were gathering at Modhur Canteen area at around 1 in the night.
Around 1:30 at night, the students from female halls started leaving the TSC area. The students of male halls also followed them a bit later.