Quota reform movement: Protesters demand visible steps within 24 hrs
Agitating students and job seekers have presented a memorandum to President Mohammed Shahabuddin, demanding a rational reformation in the quota system for government recruitments.
Returning from the Bangabhaban, the movement leaders said they want visible initiatives regarding their one-point demand within the next 24-hours, and it was mentioned in their memorandum.
They have been protesting since 1 July, demanding that a law be legislated in parliament with a maximum 5 per cent quota for some particular groups.
In continuation of their series programmes, the protesters, under the banner of ‘Anti-Discriminatory Student Movement’, brought out a procession from the Dhaka University’s central library premises around 12:00 pm on Sunday.
We are yet to receive any assurance from the government. We could not understand what the government’s intention was
They paraded through the Shahbagh and Matshya Bhaban areas of the city before holding a sit-in before the Gulistan Shopping Complex. On the way, they foiled police barricades at Shiksha Adhikar Chattar and Zero Point in the city.
The protesting students blocked the city roads in the area during their programme, halting traffic movement.
Later, a 12-member delegation went to the Bangabhaban around 2:30 pm to present the memorandum to the president and returned from there around 3:00 pm.
Sarjis Alam, a coordinator of the movement and a member of the delegation, told the protesters that they handed over the memorandum to the president’s military secretary, and he assured them of presenting it to the president at the earliest.
“In the memorandum, we demanded that a law be legislated in the parliament, keeping a maximum 5 per cent quota for the backward communities in line with the constitution. We hope the president, from the country’s highest position, would take necessary measures to implement the heart-felt demand of the students,” he said.
Another coordinator, Nahid Islam, said their programmes are not intended to create public suffering.
“We are yet to receive any assurance from the government. We could not understand what the government’s intention was. Reforming quota in jobs of all grades falls under the jurisdiction of the executive department as well as the government,” he added.