Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, has shifted into high gear in their efforts to establish supremacy at Chittagong University (CU) campus.
The activists are flexing their political muscles, regrouping in an effort to gain control of the university dormitories.
Despite a ban on politics on the campus, the Shibir men with the permission of the CU Vice-Chancellor Prof Anwarul Azim on Monday held a meeting at the university’s central mosque in the name of an “Eid reunion.”
Progressive teachers and student leaders reacted angrily to the CU authorities’ decision to permit Shibir to hold the programme at the university’s central mosque.
CU acting-Proctor Prof Khan Tawhid Osman confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune that the vice-chancellor allowed Shibir to hold the meeting.
Two central leaders of Islami Chhatra Shibir addressed the meeting which had around 2,000 activists in attendance.
The two leaders were the social welfare secretary Saidul Syed, and manpower and development affairs secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar, said Mustafizur Rahman, CU unit Shibir general secretary.
Earlier, the Shibir leaders met with the CU vice-chancellor on August 21 and sought permission to hold the programme.
Requesting anonymity, a Shibir leader from CU’s AF Rahman hall told the Dhaka Tribune the organisation had suspended its university unit leaders’ Eid vacations to carry out their plan.
Shibir had been observing the political situation in the university dormitories, including AF Rahman Hall, Abdur Rab Hall, Suhrawardi Hall and Shahjalal Hall.
In the dormitories, they have been gearing up for a move to maintain their dominance.
Four hundred committees were formed- including eight faculty and 46 departmental committees- under which there were 228 committees based on academic batches.
There are seven dormitory committees comprising of the block 48 unit and floor 68 unit committees. Furthermore, there are 30 cottage unit committees on the campus, nine college units and five school unit committees comprising of at least 2000 activists.
A total of 14 central leaders are at the helm with six deputy leaders carrying out the directions of the higher ranks.
The Shibir activists regularly post updates on facebook as well as maintaining good lines of communication among the group through the social networking site.
Intelligence sources said Shibir moved into top gear to rein in political power in the university.
The BCL leaders alleged that the univeristy VC had joined hands with Shibir in order to stay in his position at CU.
But the VC denied this allegation against him outright.
He said he was not informed about the presence of the Shibir central leaders who addressed the programme.
CU Chhatra League Organising Secretary Diyaz Irfan Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune that the fundamentalist force, Shibri, had been conspiring to create political turbulence on the campus with the help of CU authorities.
He vowed that Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders and activists were ready to combat all evils committed by Shibir at any cost.