Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader faced harsh criticism from former leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) during a views-exchange meeting on the quota reform movement on Wednesday.
The situation got worse as Quader did not allow the former student leaders to speak at the meeting. During this time, some of the leaders began chanting “bhua, bhua” (fake, fake).
The incident occurred at the central office of the ruling Awami League on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital. The Awami League organised the meeting to discuss the existing situation surrounding the quota reform movement with former Chhatra League leaders and informed the media that General Secretary Obaidul Quader would exchange views with them. The student leaders said they were invited to participate in the meeting.
Several hundred former Chhatra League leaders, including former presidents and general secretaries of Chhatra League, attended the meeting at the conference room on the second floor of the party office.
However, instead of discussing or exchanging views with the attendees, Obaidul Quader started addressing the media.
Witnesses said that former Chhatra League leaders got frustrated and angry and began talking among themselves, which soon turned into a ruckus. Some leaders also started shouting “bhua, bhua” (fake, fake).
The former Chhatra League leaders explained that they were there for an exchange of views, but Obaidul Quader’s decision to start a press conference without any discussion fuelled anger among them.
Several attendees voiced their frustration, saying, “You called an exchange of views meeting but are holding a press conference. Why did you call us? You should listen to us and discuss first, then brief the journalists.”
As shouting intensified, Obaidul Quader cut the press conference short and left the venue, retreating to his office in the Awami League central office. Later, the former Chhatra League leaders who were on the ground floor and outside the building continued chanting “bhua, bhua” (fake, fake) before leaving.
Sources also said when Dr Abdur Razzaque arrived at the meeting, some former Chhatra League leaders questioned his presence, mentioning his son’s anti-government social media posts. As Dr Abdur Razzaque was leaving, these leaders surrounded him and continued to confront him until he left the office.
Prior to this, while Obaidul Quader was talking to journalists, some former Chhatra League leaders misbehaved with the media people. Rajbari District Awami League’s Organising Secretary Mahmudul Asad Rasel, who was recently accused of assaulting a journalist, was also seen at the event.
Obaidul Quader had previously issued a show-cause notice to Asad and directed that he be barred from entering the central office on Bangabandhu Avenue and the political office of party president Sheikh Hasina in Dhanmondi.
During his address to the journalists, Obaidul Quader urged the former Chhatra League leaders to get united, stating, “Today, we must fight together. We need to forget all grievances. If that monstrous force is given more leeway, we all need to unite and fight.”
Awami League presidium members Dr Abdur Razzaque, Dr Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Organising Secretaries BM Mozammel Haque, Afzal Hossain, Sujit Roy Nandi, and Forest and Environment Secretary Delwar Hossain, among others, were present at the meeting.
