A faction of the Students Against Discrimination in Chattogram has held a demonstration rejecting three newly announced committees, with over 50 members resigning and declaring the committees unacceptable.
At a press conference held in S Rahman Hall at Chattogram Press Club on Tuesday noon, leaders of the faction, who played key roles in the July-August mass uprising, announced their decision. They also issued an ultimatum to the central leadership warning it to revoke the committees or face road blockades.
The central committee had approved the new bodies on Monday night for a six-month term, appointing 315 members to the city unit, 112 to the northern district, and 327 to the southern district units, totalling 754 members.
The approval was granted by central committee convener Hasnat Abdullah and member secretary Arif Sohel.
Protesting students alleged that those who actively participated in the July uprising were sidelined, while affiliates of the Bangladesh Chhatra League and Teenage Gang members were included in the committees.
鈥楾hese committees were formed unilaterally, betraying the spirit of the 2024 movement,鈥� said Chattogram coordinator and newly appointed joint convener of the city committee, Chowdhury Siam Ilahi.
He said, 鈥業nstead of recognising those who led the movement, individuals who delivered fiery speeches after August 5 were given leadership positions, deliberately excluding key activists.鈥�
Religious minorities and female frontline activists were ignored while forming the committees, Siam claimed, adding that this is entirely the central committee鈥檚 responsibility.
Echoing similar sentiment, Jubaerul Alam Manik, a coordinator of the movement in Chattogram鈥檚 southern district and joint convener of the newly announced district committee, said, 鈥榃hen we contacted Rasel Ahmed, the only representative from Chattogram on the central committee, he confirmed that he was not consulted regarding these committees.鈥�
Following the press conference, students brought out a protest procession from the Press Club that paraded Jamal Khan and Kazir Dewri areas before concluding at Lalkhan Bazar, where they briefly blocked the road.
By 1:30pm on Tuesday, students, including 20 to 30 members who had resigned from the new committees, blocked one side of the road in Lalkhan Bazar area, leading to traffic congestion in the area.