Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal general secretary Nasir Uddin on Thursday alleged that the student wing of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Chhatra Shibir, has gradually been increasing its dominance in educational institutions across the country since August 5.
Speaking at a joint press conference organised by Juba Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal, and Chhatra Dal at the Bangladesh Nationalist Party鈥檚 Naya Paltan office in Dhaka on Thursday, Nasir Uddin stated that campuses should remain open to free and democratic political activities, rather than allowing these to be under the control of partisan groups.
A human chain protest in Chattogram, organised to oppose the release of Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam and condemn the attack on the Democratic Student Alliance in Rajshahi on Tuesday night, turned violent, with images of a woman being kicked circulating widely on social media.
Citing the incident, Chhatra Dal leader alleged that Shibir had launched efforts since August 5 to exert influence over campuses, marked by violent incidents.
He pointed to an attack on a procession at Rajshahi University and the assault of a female student in Chattogram.
Nasir also accused Shibir of attempting to disrupt rallies of left-leaning student groups.
Chhatra Dal secretary claimed that the resurgence of Chhatra Shibir had been aided by the current government, which he said has created space within university administrations for Jamaat-affiliated officials.
Nasir said that such appointments were facilitating Shibir鈥檚 growing influence.
He also highlighted recent attacks at Chattogram Polytechnic Institute and Dhaka Polytechnic Institute as further examples of what he described as a renewed strategy of political occupation in the guise of democratic activities.
He accused Shibir of using internal networks to propagate misinformation about the BNP鈥檚 student wing.
Following the mass uprising, it was observed that the vice-chancellor of Dhaka University appeared to have supported Shibir by allowing the Jamaat鈥檚 student wing to engage in campus politics, said Nasir.
鈥楧espite the general anonymity of Shibir鈥檚 female members, the DU vice-chancellor seems to recognise them personally, which indicates his active role in helping the group regain influence on the campus,鈥� he further said.
