A meeting held on Saturday between three leaders of the Students Movement Against Discrimination, the platform leading the ongoing quota reform movement, with three ministers created confusions as their demands differed with other leaders of the movement.
A three-member team of the protesters, led by Sarjis Alam, one of the coordinators of the platform, placed eight demands to the government at a meeting with three ministers 鈥攍aw minister Anisul Huq, education minister Muhibul Hasan Chowdhury and state minister for information Muhammad A Arafat鈥� early Saturday at the state guest house Padma.
After placing the demands, Sarjis, who was elected as an executive member of the Amar Ekushey Hall student council in last Dhaka University Central Student Union election from Bangladesh Chhatra League鈥檚 panel, told reporters that it was not a dialogue or discussion but a meeting for placing the demands.
The demands include enacting a law limiting quota in government jobs to 5 per cent, ensuring punishment of the leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League and Bangladesh Juba League, respectively the student and youth fronts of the ruling Awami League, and law enforcers involved in the attacks on students.
They demanded the trial of a person in the government who instigated the BCL and law enforcement agencies, reopening of campuses, withdrawal of cases filed against students over clashes, and withdrawal of vice-chancellors of some universities, where students were subject to massive attacks.
鈥楽ome are trying to misuse our platform to gain political advantage. They are creating violence, we do not support it,鈥� he said.
After the meeting, law minister told reporters that demands of the protesters were very reasonable.
鈥榃e think their demands are very reasonable and the government will consider them sincerely,鈥� he added.聽聽聽聽聽
Sarjis is one of about 21 coordinators of the platform. His actions, however, led to controversies, especially after he had become unreachable by other leaders of the platform since Friday.
Despite going incommunicado, he continued giving interviews to some television channels over the phone saying that some people were using their movement for political gains.
Later, Arif Sohel, another organiser of the movement, told 抖阴精品 that Sarjis鈥檚 statement was his personal view and it did not represent the stance of the platform for it was not aware of making such demands.
Besides, on Friday night, Abdul Kader, one of the key coordinators of the movement, in a statement urged the countrymen to continue 鈥榗omplete shutdown鈥� and placed a nine-point demand.
The demands include removal of home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, suspension of police officers in areas where protesters got killed, removal of vice-chancellors and proctors of Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University and Rajshahi University and an unconditional public apology from prime minister taking responsibility for the murders over the course of the movement.
He also demanded banning Chhatra League on campuses, make student councils effective, and immediate reopening of campuses and dormitories.聽聽聽聽聽
Kader said that if they were to hold any dialogue with the government, it would hold only after discussing with the general students.
Abdullah Salehin Ayon, a coordinator of the student protests added that police took away at least five of their leaders and no talk would be possible without their release and lifting of the ongoing digital shutdown.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police detective branch鈥檚 deputy commissioner Shahin Shah Alam denied the allegation of arresting any quota movement leaders.