Govt unleashes Chhatra Dal against Chhatra Shibir: Golam Porwar

While speaking of compromise in Parliament over the political crisis, the government has at the same time unleashed Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) against Islami Chhatra Shibir across the country, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Mia Golam Porwar has alleged.

He said leaders elected in the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) by the votes of 30,000 students had been attacked and tortured “like hyenas” by the Chhatra Dal members.

He also alleged that Chhatra Dal had carried out brutal attacks on Chhatra Shibir in Chattogram, Cumilla, Pabna and Ishwardi.

Golam Porwar made the remarks today, Friday afternoon, at a Jamaat ward presidents’ conference held at an auditorium in Johan Dream Valley Park in Jhenaidah town.

“People are being misled through false photo cards, propaganda and rumours against Shibir. You call Shibir clandestine? Shibir is not clandestine. What if the people of the country say that those who returned from abroad after 17 years are the ones who are clandestine. The person who served in the interim government and has now become foreign minister in the new government—he is clandestine. Those who could not do politics on university campuses for 17 years are the ones who are clandestine,” the Jamaat leader said.

According to Golam Porwar, “(Islami Chhatra) Shibir has been built in such a way that despite propaganda branding it as clandestine or as ‘throat-slitters’, university students across the country have given it wholehearted support.”

The Jamaat secretary general also said the government has been deceiving the people through a “note of dissent”. He alleged that despite signing the July Charter, it had created a crisis over its implementation.

To save the country from renewed political crisis and further bloodshed, he demanded that the July Charter be incorporated as a constitutional law.

“So long as that does not happen,” he said, “our struggle will continue in parliament and on the streets.”

Claiming that election results had been altered through election engineering, Golam Porwar said none but a former influential adviser had made such remarks to the media. He demanded a judicial inquiry into the alleged election engineering.

He also said the opposition would work in unity with the government to address the country’s electricity and energy crisis.

He called on party leaders and activists to join protest marches under the banner of the 11-party alliance in all metropolitan cities on 25 April and in all district towns on 2 May.

Among those present as special guest was Mobarak Hossain, central member of Jamaat and director for the Jashore-Kushtia region.

The event was presided over by district Jamaat ameer and MP Ali Azam Muhammad Abu Bakar. Also present were MPs Matiar Rahman of Jhenaidah-3 and Abu Taleb of Jhenaidah-4, among others.