BNP leader Salahuddin personally congratulates DUCSU winners
Congratulating the winners of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said, “I personally congratulate the winners of the DUCSU election. This is a democratic norm”
Mentioning that there were some flaws in the election, the BNP leader said, “There were some flaws as the journey resumed after a long time.”
He said while addressing a discussion held to mark the 47th founding anniversary of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal.
Salahuddin Ahmed was the chief guest of the event organised by the central committee of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal at the Institution of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh (IDEB) auditorium in the capital’s Kakrail on Wednesday.
Referring to media reports claiming that a Shibir panel had won the DUCSU election, Salahuddin Ahmed said, “To my knowledge, Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir did not take part in the DUCSU election.”
He questioned whether any panel had been nominated in the name of Chhatra Shibir or under its banner.
Raising the question of whether the DUCSU results would have any impact on national politics, the BNP standing committee member said, “Many leaders who once served as DUCSU VP or GS are now in national politics, while some have faded away. Among those who were part of major political organisations, some have entered parliament. The rest are still fighting and struggling to get there. It would not be right for me to mention names, but I wish them a bright future.”
The BNP standing committee member said the struggle to change the political culture must continue, and a new trend of political culture must be established.
He said, “If we do not want the rise or resurgence of fascism, if we do not want a system of personal dictatorship or party dictatorship, if we do not want parliamentary autocracy and do not desire a one-party state, then we must uphold the continuity of a new democratic political culture.”
The BNP leader remarked that a sound political framework would bring an end to destructive politics.
He said, “We must practise that kind of politics. There will be competition and rivalry in politics. But at the end of the day, we will congratulate one another through a democratic process. That should be our tradition.”
Highlighting that universities, as the cradle of state transformation, must continue practising student politics, Salahuddin Ahmed said, “I oppose those who speak against student politics or call for its ban. Because the arena for practising politics is the campus, the school of learning is the university, and from there national political leadership emerges through gradual development.”
In his speech, Salahuddin Ahmed called on the Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal leadership to be better organised and to prepare for the upcoming election. He also said that if the BNP forms government, it will introduce provisions to increase women’s leadership and ensure more direct women candidates in parliamentary elections.
The discussion meeting was presided over by Afroza Abbas, president of the BNP’s central women’s front, and conducted by its general secretary, Sultana Ahmed. BNP standing committee member AZM Zahid Hossain, among others, also spoke at the event. Leaders and activists of the women’s front from Dhaka metropolitan and district units were present.