Amid calls for re-election from a number of major panels, Nurul Haque Nur, vice-president-elect of Dhaka University Central Students' Union, finally made a public announcement yesterday that he was going to assume the office.
Earlier, he changed his stance over taking charge of the union for several times since the election took place on March 11.
Speaking at a press conference held at the university's Madhur Canteen, Nur said he and Akhter Hossen, secretary-elect for Ducsu's social services affairs from the same panel, would take their charge prioritising the demands of general students.
“Prioritising the students' demand, we have taken the formal decision to take our charges in tomorrow's [today's] installation programme. Besides, we will continue our agitation to realise the students' logical demands, including re-election to the Ducsu and hall unions,” said Nur.
The first executive meeting of newly elected student representatives of Dhaka University will be held today through which the student leaders will officially begin their duties.
Of the 25 posts of Ducsu, 23 were won by the members of the Chhatra League's panel.
He also said they were going to take charges showing respect to the voting rights of general students who had voted for him despite many obstacles.
“Our demand for re-election will remain unchanged. We will take charge for addressing different irregularities of the university and to speed up the protest against the irregularities that took place during the Ducsu election,” Nur added.
Asked whether the four other boycotting panels supported his decision, he said the other panel members thought that he should take the charge to continue the agitation for repolling.
Litan Nandi, who took part in the election from Pragatisheel Chhatra Oikya as the VP candidate, said the decisions of taking charge and demanding re-election at the same time contradict each other.
“Nevertheless, the decision is up to him,” Liton added.
Aroni Samonti Khan, leader of the independent panel, also echoed the same thought while talking to The Daily Star yesterday.
Nur, who boycotted the March 11 polls, has been changing his decision in this regard since the polling day.
On the election day, Nur's panel Sadharan Chhatra Odhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad boycotted the election and demanded re-election, raising allegations of irregularities.
The next day, the Ducsu VP-elect changed his stance and demanded re-election to all posts, except for the VP and social services affairs secretary.
But a few hours later, after holding discussion with the other wings of protesting student, he demanded re-election to all posts.
The same afternoon, BCL President Rezwanul Haque Chowdhury Shovon, who was defeated in the race for VP post, congratulated Nur at TSC auditorium on campus, and Nur expressed solidarity with BCL to work together for ensuring rights of all students.
Hours later, he again said BCL men had carried out several attacks on him and he was not going to forget the scars only because they greeted him.
On March 13, Nur went to meet the students of Ruqayyah Hall, who were observing a hunger strike in front of the hall gate demanding fresh polls to their hall union, and to take their opinion about whether he should take the charge. The agitating students then asked him to step aside.
Nur, along with all the elected representatives of the Ducsu and hall unions met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Gono Bhaban on March 16, where he sought the PM's all-out cooperation for the proper functioning of the students' body.
The next day, he along with five panels called a sit-in programme for March 18, demanding re-election to all posts of Ducsu and hall unions.
While speaking at yesterday's press conference, Nur also demanded students' union election in every universities and colleges across the country, saying the politics of muscle power have been established on the campuses in absence of students' union election.
“Students got enrolled into this university through their merit and their seats in the halls should be allotted on that basis. No students can be compelled to attend any political programme and no one can be allotted seats based on political consideration,” he said.
