Ruling Bangladesh Awami League’s (AL) student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) on Wednesday asked its activists to find Islami Chhatra Shibir activists and thus to “resist” them.
Shibir is the student organisation of Islam-based political party – Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, a key ally of main opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
“No more defensive action, we will henceforth have to go for taking a role of attacking strikers. Only slogans, rallies, and processions are not enough. BCL activists should take ‘attacking measures’ in order to resist Shibir,” BCL president Saifur Rahman told a rally at Dhaka University’s TSC Wednesday evening.
“Find out where there are Shibir activists and thus resist them there,” the BCL president asked his party activists.
Accusing Shibir of assaulting two BCL activists in Sylhet on Tuesday, the BCL president announced to launch “counter-attack on Shibir men from now on”.
Referring to the two incidents in Rajshahi University and Lakshmipur district where BCL activists beat up several Shibir men, the BCL president said the “resistance against Shibir” has begun.
“Jamaat and Shibir must be contained with a firm fist. Jamaat and Shibir men will be allowed to stay nowhere in the country, from district to union. They will have to be contained after searching each of them and they will have to be ousted from the country,” said the ruling party’s student wing chief.
BCL secretary SM Zakir Hossain threatened that they would give a befitting reply to Jamaat and Shibir if attackers are not arrested in 24 hours.
“BCL leaders and workers know well how to give the reply,” he added.
Meanwhile, Islami Chhatra Shibir president Yeasin Arafat and secretary general Mobarak Hossain claimed in a statement published on the organisation’s website that Shibir activists were in no way involved in any attacks on BCL activists.
Shibir also claimed that the attack on BCL activists in Sylhet was resulted from intra-party conflicts of the BCL itself.
Source: Prothom Alo