Quota reform: Students plan march to Bangabhaban tomorrow

Quota reform: Students plan march to Bangabhaban tomorrow

Dhaka, July 13 - Students calling for the reform of the quota system in government jobs have announced plans for a mass rally tomorrow to the President's official residence, where they intend to submit a memorandum.

The memorandum will call for an emergency parliamentary session to address what they describe as "quota discrimination" through new legislation or executive orders.

The protesters also demanded the withdrawal of a case filed by a police officer, giving a 24-hour ultimatum and denouncing the case as “false and fabricated.”

These announcements were made under the banner of the “Anti-Discrimination Student Movement” during a press conference held at Dhaka University's central library around 6 pm on Saturday.

In addition to the Dhaka rally, students outside the capital will submit memorandums to the President through their respective deputy commissioners (DCs).

"The long march will be held at 11 am on Sunday, with students from Dhaka University, Jagannath University, affiliated colleges, and other educational institutions in Dhaka participating. The march will start from the main gate of Dhaka University's central library," said Hasnat Abdullah, one of the movement's coordinators, at the press conference.

"The ongoing student strike to boycott classes and examinations will continue. We will also submit a memorandum to the President, requesting an emergency session in the National Parliament to resolve this issue," he added.

Nahid Islam, another coordinator, accused the government of planning to suppress the movement using police and the ruling party's student wing. "The government should have engaged in dialogue with the students from the beginning and taken visible steps to resolve the crisis. We want to say that such plans will not derail our protest."

He also said, police reported “no damage” during Thursday's protest. "We have records of this. We demand accountability from the police regarding this sudden case. Such threats will not deter us. We demand the withdrawal of this case within the next 24 hours. If they want to file a case, they can do so by naming individuals."

Addressing the teachers, another coordinator, Sarjis Alam, said, "Classes were canceled for your pension scheme, and students supported you. Now it's time for you to support your students' logical demands. Even if your demands are met, we will not participate in classes or exams until our demands are met. We don’t want to see our teachers pressuring us to attend classes and exams."

"We must continue and intensify this movement, but the responsibility lies with the government. If the government accepts our logical demands, we will not stay on the streets. The liability for this situation rests with the government, not the students," he added.-UNB