Leftist student organisations block DU VC's office with 6-point demands

Representatives from left-wing student organisations have gathered in front of the Dhaka University Vice Chancellor’s office to press for a six-point list of demands ahead of the DUCSU elections.

Their demands include the relocation of polling centres from the residential halls to academic buildings.

Two platforms of leftist student organisations, the Pragatishil Chhatra Jote and Samrajyabadbirodhi Chhatra Oikya, began the protest around 1:00 pm on Monday.

The protesters started a procession from the Madhu’s Canteen and marched through the university campus before arriving at the Vice Chancellor’s office around 12:30 pm.

They demanded the age limit restriction on voters and candidates in the DUCSU elections be scrapped and these privileges be extended to all ‘those who pay DUCSU fees’.

Other demands include allowing campaigning in classrooms, ending violence in halls, that legitimate students receive the seats based on merit and allowing former DUCSU leaders to vouch for candidates by participating in election campaigns.

By setting up the polling centres in the residential halls, the administration has overlooked the expectations of other student organisations only to comply with the Chhatra League’s demands, said Iqbal Kabir, coordinator of Pragatishil Chhatra Jote.

 “They did everything that was asked of them by the Chhatra League while ignoring the other student organisations. It’s as if the university authorities were waiting for the Chhatra League’s instructions,” he said.

Further protests will be staged if the six-point demands are not fulfilled, warned Iqbal, also the president of Biplobi Chhatra Moitree.

According to the election schedule, nomination forms for the DUCSU election will be available from Feb 18 to Feb 25. The DUCSU election is slated for Mar 11.

The Jatiyabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of BNP, was also in the Madhu’s Canteen on Monday, as it had been in the last few days. But the Chhatra Dal will not be collecting nomination forms on Tuesday and will ‘wait till the end’ until its demands are fulfilled, Akramul Hasan, central general secretary of the Chhatra Dal, told journalists.

The Chhatra Dal has been demanding the deferral of the election for nearly three months over the issue of coexistence of all student organisations and will

“We hope the university will accept our demands.”

Meanwhile, the Chhatra League held a human chain programme in front of the Dhaka University Library on Monday, demanding that the library be revamped into a modern multi-storey complex.   

A section of JSD Chhatra League has also demanded the deferral of the DUCSU election by 15 days to ensure peaceful coexistence of all student organisations within the campus and halls.

They placed the demand during the announcement of their panel for the DUCSU election on Monday.

“The election should be deferred by at least 15 days to ensure the coexistence of all student organisations in the campus and halls, just like in Madhu’s Canteen,” said Shahjahan Ali Shaju, the president of JSD Chhatra League.

The leader of the JSD-backed student body also announced a Chhartra League-led 25-member panel separate from the Chhatra Sangram Parishad.

Mahfuzur Rahman Rahat, president of the Dhaka University wing of JSD Chhatra League, was nominated for the position of DUCSU vice president while General Secretary Shahriar Rahman Bijoy received nomination for the post of general secretary.