Tension mounts afresh in B'desh as student leaders refuse PM Hasina's call for dialogue
demands her resignation
Dhaka, Aug 3: Tension gripped Bangladesh afresh on Saturday after leaders of the student movement refused Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s invitation for talks and demanded her resignation, while protesters laid siege on major streets in the capital, days after more than 200 people died in anti-quota protests.
Bangladesh recently witnessed violent clashes between the police and mostly student protesters demanding an end to a controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971.
Witnesses said students protesting blocked major roads of Dhaka causing traffic snarls while officials said security forces were ordered to keep intensified vigil as protesters started rallying at different city points.
“We announce the abolition of the government and the fascist regime. That's why we call for a student uprising. We want to build a Bangladesh where autocracy will never return. Our sole demand is the resignation of this government, including Sheikh Hasina, and the end of fascism," Nahid Islam, a key coordinator of the Anti-Discriminatory Student Movement, said at a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar here.
“The government now says the gates of Ganabhaban are open for talks. We believe she (Sheikh Hasina) has already understood that the doors of Ganabhaban must remain open. We demand Sheikh Hasina's resignation, including the entire cabinet. Not only should she resign, but she should also be brought to justice for all the murders and disappearances in the country," he said.
Islam said the students don’t expect justice from the government, as he blames the government for the deaths and disappearances.
“This government has killed people and disappeared bodies. How will those who committed the murders provide justice? We don't expect justice for murder from this government. People from all walks of life are being killed, abducted, arrested, and tortured. On the one hand, arrests and torture are being carried out, and on the other, we are being called to dialogue,” he said.
On Friday, Prime Minister Hasina urged the agitating students to meet at her Ganabhaban official residence for talks to end the violence over the quota system in government jobs.
Her call came a day after new protests erupted on Friday, leaving two people dead and more than 100 injured as over 2,000 protesters gathered in parts of the capital, some shouting “down with the autocrat” and demanding justice for victims.
“I am saying again, they (student leaders) can come to me for talks if they want they can bring with them their guardians as well anytime,” she said during a meeting with leaders of different professional groups.
“The door of Ganabhaban is open (for them),” she said.
"I want to listen to them. I do not want conflict," she said while ruling Awami League sources said three party leaders were tasked to communicate and convince the anti-quota movement coordinators.
Meanwhile, two police officials were suspended by higher authorities for their “unprofessional conduct”. The officials fired gunshots that killed a second-year student of Northwestern Rangpur University Abu Sayeed, the first casualty during the protest on the university campus, intensifying the student's rage.
Video footage and photos showed Sayeed standing, arms spread wide, alone, challenging the police crackdown against protesters when a police officer suddenly shot him several times.
However, coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement said on Friday that they had no plan to hold talks with the government, and overnight, they called a nationwide street protest and “all-out non-cooperation” or civil disobedience campaign.
One of the six coordinators who were earlier detained for their “own safety” in detective police custody and freed after they announced the withdrawal of their movement on Friday said they were forced to give the statement.
"When we were detained in the office, we were asked to meet with the Prime Minister and suspend the movement. There was even a plan to take us to Ganobhaban forcibly,” one of the coordinators Asif Mahmud said in a Facebook post.
"We are ready to pay the price of an uncompromising stance, even if it means death. We call for the participation of every citizen of Bangladesh in the student-citizen uprising," Asif wrote.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
