Cancel appointments of new election officers
Seven student bodies demand
DU Correspondent
Seven opposition-backed student organisations led by the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) yesterday demanded immediate cancellation of the recent appointments of Upazila Election Officers (UEO), saying that they were appointed on the basis of political loyalty.They also threatened to go for a tougher movement, including student strike, if their demands are not met by October 3. The BNP-Jamaat alliance government has selected all the UEOs from the list of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and Islami Chhatra Shibir activists, the student leaders said at a press conference on the Dhaka University campus. They also termed 'illegal' the appointments given ahead of next parliamentary election. The leaders alleged that the 'Hawa Bhaban' prepared the results of the examination for the UEOs and the Public Service Commission (PSC) only published it formally. Such political appointments will have an impact on the national and local elections, said BCL President Liaqat Sikdar while reading out a written statement. Due to widespread politicisation, the brilliant students are not getting government jobs, he added. Liaqat also accused the chief election commissioner of his involvement in the appointment process and termed it a part of the 'election engineering' conspiracy by the government. The student leaders also demanded arrest of and punishment to OC Rafiq and others responsible for the murder of JSD-backed BCL leader Kamrul Islam Momin. They announced a countrywide demonstration on September 26, 29 and October 1 to press home their demands. BCL General Secretary Nazrul Islam Babu, Senior Vice-President Marufa Aktar Popy, Rafiqul Islam Kotowal, Chhatra Maitree President Rafiqul Islam Sujan, JSD-backed BCL General Secretary Ali Hasan Tarun, Chhatra Samiti Joint Convener Mustak Ahmed also spoke at the press conference.
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