Protest rally Sunday for gazette on quota-repeal

DHAKA: Quota reformist student leaders announced rallies to press the government with their demands of issuing the gazette on cancelling quota system in government jobs and withdrawing the cases filed during the quota movement. Rallies will be brought out in each universities and colleges countrywide on Sunday (May 13), said Bangladesh General Students' Right Protection Council Convener Hasan Al Mamun, at a press briefing before the central library of Dhaka University (DU) Saturday (May 12). Hasan alleged that some ‘terrorists’ carried out attack on the quota reform activists in Comilla University. The student rights body protests and condemns the incident, he said. He also alleged that police obstructed their peaceful human-chain program in Rangpur and the attendees were threatened to be arrested. Islamic University also faced the similar obstruction, he added. However, on Sunday, classes at the colleges and varsities will remain closed from 11:00am to 1:00pm, for the rallies, Hasan said further. Bangladesh General Students' Right Protection Council Joint Convener Nurul Haque Nur urged the government to leave dilly-dallying and publish the gazette soon; otherwise the students won’t leave the street. Earlier, they gave the government ultimatums twice for publishing the gazette. But, the government didn’t make any formal move regarding this. The agitating students formed a human-chain at Teacher Student Center (TSC) of Dhaka University (DU), as part of their countrywide demonstration Wednesday (May 9). In wake of the students’ adamant movement, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 11 told the national parliament that the public service government jobs won’t have any types of quota.