BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has demanded removal of Jahangirnagar University (JU) Vice Chancellor Farzana Islam, for reportedly bribing local Chattra League leaders over the university’s Tk1,445cr development project.
He made the statement while addressing a human chain, organized to press home its demand for the release of party chairperson Khaleda Zia, in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Monday.
“There has been some interesting news where the offence of demanding a bribe at Jahangirnagar University has been termed as ‘fair share’. This means the percentage they (BCL leaders) demanded is their ‘fair share’. The university’s VC has already provided Tk1 crore as bribe,” he said.
On October 23, 2017, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved a Tk1,445 crore development project for JU. As per the first phase of the project, the university administration took the initiative to build five residential halls at the cost of Tk400 crore.
On May 1 this year, the project manager put forward a tender invitation, and on June 30, the VC inaugurated the construction work of the residential halls. However, since the beginning, the project has been marred with allegations of irregularities including the tender process, Chhatra League's intervention, an ill-planned master plan and needless cutting down of trees.
On September 14, VC Farzana Islam accused the then Chhatra League president Rezwanul Haque Choudhury Shovon and general secretary Golam Rabbani of demanding a "4-6%" cut from the Tk1,445cr development project at the university. However, the two student leaders countered the allegations by saying that Prof Farzana and her family gave Tk1.6 crore to the Jahangirnagar University Chhatra League, so they did not get in the way of the development project.
As the controversy grew, Prime Minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina later selected the new central leadership of Chhatra League, after directing the two respective leaders to step down immediately.
“So, why should only two student leaders be removed for the offence? The vice chancellor should either resign or be sacked immediately,” Fakhrul demanded at the human chain program.
