Job quota protesters to hold campus marches, rallies Tuesday after BCL attacks at Dhaka University

They now demand punishment of attackers

Students demonstrating against the freedom fighter quota in government jobs have announced protest marches and rallies after clashes and attacks by Bangladesh Chhatra League activists at Dhaka University.

They will stage protest programmes on university campuses across Bangladesh at 3pm on Tuesday, also to push for their demand for the abolishment of the quota for the descendants of the war veterans.

Their other demands include withdrawal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s remarks favouring the freedom fighters, and punishment of the BCL attackers.

Protest leader Nahid Islam announced the programmes at a press conference outside Dhaka University’s Curzon Hall amid heavy police presence at 9:30pm on Monday.

“I urge the students to involve the general public in the programmes and turn these into a greater mass movement,” he said.

Nahid also said more than 200 students were injured in BCL attacks and 25 of them were in a critical condition.

“We believe the attacks were planned by the government, law-enforcing agencies and ruling party student organisation. This is our message to them: our movement can’t be suppressed in this way,” he said.