Leaders of prominent student organizations on Sunday shared their opinions after the Supreme Court gave its verdict on the issue of quotas, making way for the government to make 93% of recruitments in civil service jobs based on merit.
Mazharul Kabir Shoyon, president of the Chhatra League’s Dhaka University unit said the organization would issue a statement after making a decision together.
Meghamollar Bose, president of Bangladesh Students Union’s DU chapter, said the government was responsible for the initial violence centred on quota reform protests. He added that the violence that ensued had been a reaction to that.
Meghamollar said the freedom fighter quota was against the constitution. “The court said freedom fighters are not a backward class. Thus, creating a separate quota for them is unconstitutional.”
He said the verdict was not a permanent solution, adding that it would be followed by further cases.
Bose thinks that reserving 2% of quotas for ethnic minority groups, third-gender people and disabled people was not sufficient.
Meanwhile, Dilip Roy, president of Biplobi Chhatro Moitri, said the verdict was “deceiving,” rejecting it on the basis of lost lives during the protests and calling for the prime minister to step down.
Besides, in a press release the Democratic Students Council said reformed quotas could not exclude women, ethnic minority groups and backward classes.
It called for the government to step down and demanded quota reform through an executive order after a “fair election.”
Dhaka Tribune tried to reach several leaders of the Chhatra Dal but failed to get their response.
