Protests erupt before the official launch of new student organization

A fresh wave of protests broke out earlier today as a new student organization, ‘Bangladesh Democratic Student Union,’ was set to be launched.

The group, which split from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, is facing internal unrest before even officially announcing itself.

The protest took place on Wednesday, February 26, at 4 PM, just before the organization was supposed to make its public debut.

Students involved in the protest voiced their dissatisfaction with several key decisions made by the new leadership.

Their main grievance was that Rifat Rashid, a former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, was not assigned a prominent position in the new organization. 

The protesters also criticized the lack of committees for both the eastern and western parts of Uttara, which they claimed fueled their rebellion.

The protestors chanted several slogans, including “Amar Sonar Bangla, Boishommer Thai Nai” (My Golden Bengal, no place for discrimination), “Diyeci To Rokto, Aro Dibo Rokto” (I gave blood, I’ll give more blood), “Justice, Justice, We Want Justice,” “Rifat Rashid-er Bhoy Nai” (No fear of Rifat Rashid), and “Rajpath Chhadi Nai” (We haven’t left the streets).

Despite the protests, the new student group went ahead with the announcement of its central committee. 

Abu Bakar Majumder, a former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, was appointed as the convener, with Zahid Ahsan as the general secretary. 

Tahmid Al Muddassir was named the chief organizer, and Ashrefa Khatun was selected as the spokesperson.

In a related development, the committee for Dhaka University (DU) was also unveiled today. 

Abdul Kader, another former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, was named the convener, while Mahir Alam was given the role of general secretary.

The leaders of the new group emphasized that the core values of the organization would be ‘Students First’ and ‘Bangladesh First.’

They stressed that their goal was to serve the interests of students and citizens, without aligning themselves with any political party.

Additionally, the new group promised that its leadership would be determined through democratic processes, not by any outside influence or "mother party."