I don’t need to win DUCSU, I just want to stay alive: Abdul Kader

Abdul Kader, the Vice President (VP) candidate of the Anti-Discrimination Student Council panel in the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election, has alleged a smear campaigns before the election terrified him.

“I don’t need to win DUCSU, I just want to stay alive,” Kader wrote in a Facebook post today, Thursday.

Abdul Kader rose to prominence during the July uprising when he, as a coordinator, announced the 9-point demand.

Last year, when seven coordinators were detained and taken to the Detective Branch office during the anti-government movement, the media carried the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’s programmes through statements sent by Kader.

After the fall of the Awami League government, Abdul Kader became the convener of the Dhaka University unit of the newly formed Bangladesh Gonotantrik Chhatra Sangsad, which emerged with the students who were at the forefront of the uprising. He was a residential student of Bijoy Ekattor Hall of 2018–19 session.

Abdul Kader is one of the most favourite VP candidates in the DUCSU election.

Expressing his fear, Kader wrote on Facebook: “I don’t need to win DUCSU, I just want to stay alive. I request at least this much mercy.”

“Since I spoke about Razakaras (collaborators of Pakistani army in 1971 Liberation War), things started happening, and it’s getting worse day by day. Since then, I can’t sleep, I wake up in the middle of the night; my body trembles. How much more can you do to one person? How much patience does a human being have? I don’t know how many more days I can take this,” Abdul Kader wrote in his Facebook post.

“It would have been tolerable if this harassment had only been limited to me online. But now they’re even going to my home and saying things to my mother!”

He also said those who are spreading propaganda against him are doing this based on a distorted speech he gave 10 days ago.

“People could understand the essence if the full speech was shown. This is just the beginning, five more days are left. What will happen by this time makes me even more traumatised,” Abdul Kader wrote.

When asked, Abdul Kader told Prothom Alo that a smear campaign is being carried out against him by distorting parts of his previous speeches and spreading misinformation.

“Fake Facebook IDs (bot accounts) are being used to deliberately spread propaganda against me,” he added.