The Bangladesh Students' Union (BSU) has alleged that the interim government is attempting to establish its power by exploiting the spirit of the July uprising, in a manner similar to how the Awami League has used the spirit of the Liberation War.
BSU also criticized the interim government for failing to present any effective reform blueprint in the past eight months, despite frequent rhetoric about building a democratic Bangladesh and offering promises of reform that have been "dangled like carrots."
"All they (the interim government) have done is appoint communal administrators in universities and deliver provocations to ban student politics. This is the so-called reform of the interim government in the education sector," said the president of BSU, Mahir Shahriar Reza, during BSU's 73rd establishment anniversary event held on Saturday at Dhaka University.
"Even though the ruler has changed, the class character of the ruler has not," Reza said, citing instances of police attacks on workers demanding their due wages before Eid-ul-Fitr and on students protesting against rape, as well as the filing of cases against protesters.
He also condemned incidents of mob violence, referencing the Tofazzal incident at Shahidullah Muslim Hall, DU, the killing of a former student at Rajshahi University (RU), and the killing of a former Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) member at Jahangirnagar University (JU).
"Killing someone through mob violence, instead of ensuring prosecution through the judicial system, cannot be allowed to continue in Bangladesh," he said.
Reza further claimed that Bangladesh is being pushed towards an unsolicited war with India, alleging that after August 5th, there has been an attempt to create a bellicose mentality based on hatred towards India.
He also cited the incidents of Liberation War sculptures and murals being vandalized.
"Even the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial in Mirpur is being demolished under the pretext of renovation," Reza added.
He alleged that the media in Bangladesh, which once served Sheikh Hasina, is now serving the Yunus government, saying that no media outlet has covered the demolition of Liberation War murals or the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial.
