Staff Correspondent
Several top leaders of the 14-party alliance came down heavily on Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader for his careless remarks and identified the wrong steps taken by the administration and the police during the quota reform movement as they sat in an emergency meeting with the ruling party president and prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Monday night.
Assessing the limitations and mistakes of the government and the ruling party, the senior leaders of the alliance suggested that the premier continue the curfew for 15-30 days and keep the army and other law enforcement agency members on the streets with caution, fearing that the BNP-Jamaat clique may destabilize the country again.
The closed-door meeting held at Ganabhaban decided that the government would take quick steps to ban Jamaat-Shibir for their terrorist activities, conduct an in-depth analysis to find out the reasons behind the violent situation centred on the movement, handle the students with care, and bring back normalcy in the educational institutions.
Most of the leaders said the situation deteriorated due to the involvement of the BNP-Jamaat elements in the movement. Even though the situation has apparently calmed, they said the BNP-Jamaat may strike again.
Several leaders who attended the meeting said the proposal to ban Jamaat-e-Islami and its student front, Islami Chhatra Shibir, was accepted unanimously. A work plan to implement the decision will be declared in a day or two.
The leaders also criticized the administration's tactics to tackle the situation and the remarks by Obaidul Quader, who was sitting next to the premier, made without assessing the pulse of the student's movement. His irresponsible remarks made the situation more volatile.
According to Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasod) President Hasanul Haq Inu, the alliance leaders demanded that the government investigate the police's failures to tackle the situation and bring those responsible to justice. In addition to Obaidul Quader, some leaders of the Awami League and Chhatra League should also face consequences for their excesses.
Bangladesh Tarikat Federation Chairman Syed Nazibul Bashar Maizvandary spoke in favour of continuing the curfew for 15-30 days and keeping the troops on the streets to aid civil administration.
Jatiya Party (JP) Secretary General Sheikh Shahidul Islam said normalcy should be restored in educational institutions at any cost. The HSC exams should resume, and the schools should reopen.
Mentioning that the alliance components should be more organized, he said the Chhatra League could not raise any resistance. "We should outlaw Jamaat-Shibir to prevent violence, and we need to implement this decision within a day or two."
Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon also criticized Obaidul Quader and the police’s role during the movement.
To quell the situation and regain public trust, most of the leaders advocated for surveillance of the police's activities and the arrest of suspects after proper assessment so that innocent people are not harassed.
'Ban Jamaat-Shibir to stop militancy'
Leaders of the 14-party alliance said Jamaat should be banned to stop terrorism and militancy. But the people should come forward in this regard. Everyone should stand together to make the people of the grassroots aware of the dangers of communalism and militancy.
14-party alliance decides to ban Jamaat-Shibir14-party alliance decides to ban Jamaat-Shibir
The prime minister replied that her government would not give them any exemption. “We will deal with it seriously.”
Regarding the ban on Jamaat, Awami League Presidium Member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim said that had Jamaat been banned at the time of the cancellation of its registration in 2018, there would not have been so many fatalities in the country.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina then said: "If you all agree, I will take this decision now."
At that time, Nazibul Bashar said: “Will you really take the decision? Can we say this outside [the meeting room]?”
Sheikh Hasina replied: “I will take this decision now.”
The Tarikat Foundation chairman also suggested that the curfew should not be lifted under any circumstances since the BNP-Jamaat-Shibir activists had not returned home yet.
Later, the premier agreed to the proposal.
DB office
Nazibul Bashar also criticized the detention of the quota protest coordinators by the Detective Branch of police, giving reference to the High Court’s observations on the matter.
The top court on Monday slammed DB chief Additional Commissioner Harunor Rashid for having food with the protest leaders, sharing photos and a video on Facebook, and asking the State not to mock the nation during a hearing.
Nazibul Bashar said that this has created negative reactions among the people. Several other leaders of the alliance echoed him. In response, the prime minister said that she would discuss the matter with the home minister.
