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Protests broke out across the country on Tuesday demanding president Mohammed Shahabuddin’s resignation, condemning him for his statement regarding the resignation of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

They also demanded immediate banning of Bangladesh Chhatra League, student wing of Awami League and repeal of the constitution.

Students and other professionals from a rally on the day placed five demands, including resignation of president Muhammed Shahabuddin, scraping the current constitution and banning Bangladesh Chhatra League, as protests sparked in different parts of the country following Shahabuddin’s remarks over Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.

Besides, several groups in the afternoon took position in front of the president’s office cum residence Bangabhaban, demanding him to resign immediately.

They said that the president loyal to Awami League was trying to reinstate the supremacy of ousted Sheikh Hasina.

Various groups, including Ziaur Rahman Samajkalyan Parishad, Inquilab Mancha, Raktim July 24, and Chhatra Forum, organised sit-in programmes, pressing for their ‘one-term’ demand.

On behalf of Raktim July 24, a platform of injured participants in the uprising, Saifudding Mohammad Emdad sent a written ultimatum to the President’s Office.

The protests entirely halted traffic movement across Gulistan.

A huge number of army and police personnel were deployed at the Bangabhaban entrance.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police inspector Mohiul Islam deployed there said that authorities beefed up security of the Bangabhaban.

At 8:00pm, Raktim July 24 members left the place after the group leader Salman Hussain briefed the media.

Nearly 100 supporters of Chhatra Forum still continued their sit-in.

At 8:30pm, some protesters tried to breach security barricade in front of Bangabhaban in response to which the police exploded sound grenades.

Student Movement Against Discrimination that led a 36-day long student-people movement forced Sheikh Hasina to resign as prime minister ending the 15-year rule of her party Awami League on August 5, raised their five-point demand at a rally at Central Shaheed Minar on the day.

The five-point demand is—immediate repeal of the constitution and formulation of a new constitution in the context of the 2024 mass uprising; banning of Chhatra League for life as a ‘terrorist organisation’ by this week; resignation of president Shahabuddin by this week; ‘Proclamation of the Republic’ in the light of the ‘July Revolution’ within this week; Declaration of the 10th, 11th and 12th parliamentary elections in 2014, 2018 and 2024 respectively as illegal and confiscation of the assets of those elected in these three elections and banning them for life from contesting in any elections.

The platform’s coordinator Hasnat Abdullah read out the demands while several hundred of students took part in the rally.

Mentioning that Sheikh Hasina would be held accountable for July-August massacre, he said, ‘Forget the dream of rehabilitating her and surrender to the judiciary. We will drag Sheikh Hasina back to Bangladesh. Our revolution is not over.’

At the protest, another central coordinator of the platform, Sarjis Alam said, ‘To all fascist allies, including Chuppu [Shahabuddin], we want to make it clear, if we see any fascist’s or killer’s interference in Bangladesh, the students and people will resist them together, just as on August 5.’

The Anti-Discrimination Doctors and Student Parishad, meanwhile on Tuesday afternoon, held another protest rally demanding the president’s resignation, saying that Shahabuddin broke his oath by spreading lies about the resignation of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

In the evening, Chhatra Odhikar Parishad activists burnt an effigy of Shahabuddin on the Dhaka University premises.

Demonetisations were also held in Rajshahi, Barishal, Chattogram, Feni and Khagrachari districts.

¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· Jahangirnagar University correspondent reported student demonstrations on the campus on the day, demanding Shahabuddin’s removal.

Under the banner of Student Movement Against Discrimination, the students brought out the procession from Jahangirnagar University’s central Shaheed Minar at about 5:00pm and parading different streets on the campus held a rally at the same spot.

¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· Rajshahi University correspondent reported that students of Rajshahi University on Tuesday staged demonstrations demanding immediate removal of Sahabuddin and a ban on Bangladesh Chhatra League, student wing of Awami League, from doing politics on the university campus.

Several hundred of them under the banner of Students Movement Against Discrimination brought out a protest rally and held a rally at the university’s paris road to press home their demands.

¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· correspondent in Barishal reported that a rally and procession were held in Barishal city at about 12 noon on the day under the banner of Student Movement Against Discrimination.

Following the rally students of various colleges gathered and brought out a procession holding sticks and paraded the city’s main roads.

Students of various educational institutions, including Government Brajo Mohun College, Syed Hatem Ali College, Polytechnic College, and Amrito Lal Dey College, participated in the rally and procession.

In a special interview with Manab Zamin editor Matiur Rahman Chowdhury on October 19, president Shahabuddin said that he did not have ‘any documentary evidence’ of the former prime minister’s resignation.

Later on Monday, Shahabuddin urged all to refrain from destabilising or embarrassing the interim government centring on ‘media publicity’ by quoting him regarding the resignation of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, said a release from the president’s press wing.

‘The clear statement from the president is that all the questions that have arisen in the public mind regarding the resignation and departure from the country of the prime minister in the face of the student-people uprising, the dissolution of the parliament, and the constitutional validity of the incumbent interim government are answered in the order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the Special Reference No-01/2024, dated August 8, 2024,’ said the release.

Earlier on the day, the interim government’s law adviser Asif Nazrul and information adviser Nahid Islam held a meeting with the Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed at his office on the Supreme Court premises.

‘The two advisers held the prescheduled meeting with the Chief Justice at his office from 2:00pm to 2:30pm,’ Supreme Court  spokesperson Moazzem Hossain told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· on Tuesday evening.