BCL men drive their president out of campus

A group of leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League’s (BCL) Kushtia Islamic University (IU) unit yesterday ousted its president Robiul Islam Polash from the campus, over allegations that he bribed the erstwhile BCL central leadership to get the post.

The same group drove out the unit’s general secretary Rakibul Islam Rakib from campus last month over similar allegations. 

The protesting group has also demanded immediate cancellation of the committee and announcement of a new one.

Witnesses said BCL president Polash, along with 10 to 12 activists, came to the party camp on campus from Kushtia around 2pm. Polash had been out of campus since September 20, the day general secretary Rakib was driven out from the campus.  

Following Polsah’s entrance, a faction led by Mizanur Rahman Lalon and Faisal Siddique Arafat along with some 200 activists stormed the camp,and engaged in a scuffle with Polash, and at one stage, forced him to leave the campus.  

Contacted, Polash admitted to the incident, but refused to comment over the allegations. 

Leaders of the rebelling faction said the president and secretary have lost their moral grounds to hold the posts, as they “bought” those for a huge sum of money. 

“They [Polash and Rakib] are not capable to lead BCL at IU, and we want their removal,” said Mizanur Rahman Lalon, former student affairs secretary of IU BCL.

The majority of Chhatra League leaders and activists of the university have been demonstrating on the campus for a over a month, after two audio conversations between Rakib and an unidentified person was leaked, that contained evidence that leaders of the university  BCL committee paid Tk 40 lakh to then president and secretary of BCL central unit, Nurul Haque Chowdhury Shovon and Golam Rabbani, for their posts.