Rajshahi University Chhatra Dal activists, who were staging a sit-in demanding voting rights for first-year students in the upcoming Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union (RUCSU) election, suddenly turned aggressive on Sunday morning.
Around 10:15 am, they vandalized a chair on the veranda in front of the RUCSU treasurer’s office and overturned a large table. By 10:30 am, they padlocked the main gate of the RUCSU building, halting the distribution of nomination forms.
RUCSU Treasurer and Chief Returning Officer of the election, Setaur Rahman, said, “Nomination form distribution was scheduled to begin at 10 am, but they blocked the gate and are not allowing anyone to enter. This is disrupting the election process. Instead of pursuing their demands democratically, they are resorting to negative actions. If first-year students are to be included in the voters’ list, the current schedule has to be canceled. Their hall attachments and ID cards have not yet been completed, which requires more time.”
Meanwhile, at 10:30 am, members of the Rajshahi University branch of the University Teachers’ Association of Bangladesh (UTAB) expressed solidarity with the Chhatra Dal’s program.
UTAB General Secretary Professor Jahangir Hossain said, “The administration wants to hand RUCSU over to a particular party. We won’t allow that. First-year students must be given the right to vote, and the environment for that must be ensured.”
Earlier, at 9:30 am, Chhatra Dal activists had begun their sit-in in front of the treasurer’s office at Kazi Nazrul Islam Auditorium, chanting slogans such as “First-year students’ voting rights, who are you to take them away,” “We paid RUCSU fees, we deserve to be voters,” and “Chhatra Dal’s pledge: first-years must vote.”
For several weeks, the university unit of Chhatra Dal has been pressing a five-point demand. While the election commission agreed to most of their demands, the issue of voting rights for first-year students remains unresolved.
They had already staged two rounds of demonstrations earlier on the same issue, and today’s program coincided with the final day of nomination form distribution.
Despite the protests, Chhatra Dal leaders collected nomination forms for 28 posts in the upcoming August 28 RUCSU and Senate student representative elections — 23 posts for the central students’ union and 5 for the Senate.
Among those who collected forms were organizational secretary Mahmudul Hasan, vice-president Nuruddin Abir, Jannatul Naeem, joint general secretaries Jahin Biswas and Shah Muhammad Kafi, Samad Mubin, office secretary NafiuI Islam, assistant office secretary Siam Bin Aiyub, human rights secretary Rafayetul Islam, publicity secretary R Rafi Khan, Bijoy 24 Hall president Gazi Ferdous Hasan, and Sher-e-Bangla Hall president M H James.
