Dhaka, October 23
Protesters in Bangladesh have seiged Banga Bhaban, the presidential palace, demanding the resignation of President Mohammed Shahabuddin. Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, Anti-discrimination Student Movement, the group-led to oust Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, announced a 5-point demands, including the resignation of President, at a rally central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka. Later at night they moved towards Banga Bhaban.
The army blocked them with barricade. The protesters took a stand outside the Banga Bhaban and started chanting slogans demanding Bangladesh President’s resignation. “The President is a crony of Hasina’s authoritarian government. He must resign immediately”, a protester said. Mohammed Shahabuddin, natively known as Chuppu, is the 16th President of Bangladesh.
A jurist civil servant and politician, he was elected unopposed in the 2023 president election in the nomination of the Awami League. The Anti-discrimination Student Movement has demanded the abolition of constitution written in 1972 must be abolished and called for writing a new constitution in the context of 2024.
Students have called for banning Awami League’s student organization Bangladesh Chatra League. They have called for resignation of Mohammed Shahabuddin. They have said that the election held in 2024, 2018 and 2024 under Sheikh Hasina must be declared illegal and Members of Parliament who secured win in these elections should be disqualified. They have called for announcing Proclamation of the Republic in keeping with sprit of the July-August uprising.
The protests, led majorly by students erupted in Bangladesh in July, demanding an end to a quota system for government jobs, took the shape of anti-government protests. In the wake of mounting protests, Sheikh Hasina tendered her resignation as Bangladesh’s PM on August 5, followed by the establishment of an interim government.
Hasina, 76, fled to India on August 5 and an interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed. On August 8, Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.
