The Dhaka University unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, on Friday protested at a statement issued by the university administration on allegations of irregularities and inconsistencies in the recently held elections to the Dhaka University Central Students鈥� Union and hall unions.
The organisation said that the September 24 statement issued by the university鈥檚 public relations office, which termed the candidates鈥� allegations 鈥榠ndefinite鈥� and 鈥榖aseless鈥�, was unacceptable.
In a press release signed by Mallik Wasi Uddin Tami, the office secretary of the Dhaka University unit of JCD, the student body alleged that the administration issued the statement without proper examination of 11 specific complaints and applications submitted by the candidates.
It said that the administration termed candidates鈥� request for reviewing CCTV footage of specific booths at Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall, Salimullah Muslim Hall and Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Huq Hall as 鈥榠ndefinite鈥�, while Chhatra Dal insisted that a full review of the footage was essential to resolve doubts regarding voter turnout.
It added that although the footage was not a public document, the candidates only requested an opportunity to review it in the presence of the university authorities.
Chhatra Dal also said that although applications were submitted within three days of the polls as per the DUCSU constitution and despite repeated approaches, the administration dismissed the complaints as 鈥榖aseless鈥�, prioritising press conferences over proper replies, which the student body termed a lack of sincerity.
The release further said that while the DU administration鈥檚 statement denied the allegation that ballot papers were printed in Nilkhet, recent investigative reports published by the media confirmed that the ballot papers were printed in Nilkhet in an unprotected way.
It proved that the allegations of Chhatra Dal-backed candidates were true and exposed that the administration鈥檚 statement was misleading, the release said.