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The 'deprived' leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League have suspended their sit-in protest over alleged attacks on them and left the site of Raju Sculpture after the senior leaders of the Awami League listened to their grievances.
The agitated BCL leaders pulled out of the protests at around 1.00 pm on Monday following a meeting with four senior Awami League leaders.
Awami League’s Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Abdur Rahman, Mozammel Haque and Bahauddin Nasim, Sechchha Sebak League General Secretary Molla Abu Kawsar, Chhatra League President Rezwanul Haque Chowdhury Shovon and General Secretary Golam Rabbani joined the meeting.
President of Ruqayyah Hall unit of Chhatra League BL Lipi Akhter, President of Bangladesh-Kuwait Friendship Hall unit of Chhatra League Farida Parveen and General Secretary Shraboni Shaila, President of Shamsunnahar Hall unit of Chhatra League Nipu Tonni, General Secretary of Jasimuddin Hall unit of Chhatra League Shahed Khan, Deputy Cultural Affairs Secretary Tilottoma Shikdar, Campaign Secretary of the defunct committee of BCL Saif Babu and Social Welfare Secretary Rana Hamid represented the protesters.
The authority assured them of meeting the demand, protest leaders said. The Awami League leaders have promised to find ways for them to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The posts in the new BCL committee occupied by the ‘controversial’ members will be declared vacant after an investigation and will be filled by “eligible” candidates, the senior leaders said at the meeting. Also, they pledged to investigate clashes in Madhu’s Canteen and the alleged attacks at TSC on Saturday night.
BCL, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, announced its 301-member central committee on Monday, a year after its conference was held. The agitation began following the announcement.
Hours after the announcement, at least 50 leaders and activists who did not get the desired posts, joined a press briefing at Madhu’s Canteen. Hundreds of BCL leaders attacked and foiled the press briefing, soon after it started.
At least 15 people, including six women leaders, were injured in the clashes.
The deprived leaders of BCL then gave a 48-hour deadline to reform the central committee or they will resign en masse, they threatened.
They raised different complaints against some of the members in the new committee, bdnews24.com reported.
The leaders, who were sidelined or ignored by the central committee, shared a list of 97 members ‘with allegations’ against them in a press briefing on Thursday and announced a plan to stay away from any programme.
The leaders and activists from the disgruntled faction of the BCL were allegedly attacked again on Saturday night when they went for a meeting at TSC in Dhaka University. Since then, they have been staging a sit-in protest at Raju Sculpture on the campus.