Student leaders have stated that President Mohammed Shahabuddin should be removed from office, and they plan to advise the government to establish a council composed of all political parties to determine the next president.
Nasiruddin Patwari, the convener of the 55-member Jatiya Nagorik Committee, said: “President Shahabuddin Chuppu must go. There is no alternative; he must go.”
He added that the call for the president's removal has moral backing from the Left Alliance as well.
In a recent meeting with the leaders of the Left Democratic Alliance, the student leaders brought the discussion to a focus on the demand for President Shahabuddin's removal.
Nasiruddin Patwari expressed these views after meeting Left Democratic Alliance leaders yesterday at Mukti Bhaban in Purana Paltan, Dhaka.
Participants in the meeting included Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) General Secretary Ruhin Hossain (Prince), BASAD Assistant General Secretary Rajekuzzaman Ratan, Left Democratic Alliance coordinator and BASAD (Marxist) coordinator Masud Rana, Revolutionary Communist League central leader Abdus Sattar, Executive President of Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal Abdul Ali, and Democratic Revolutionary Party General Secretary Moshrafa Mishu. Also present were Jatiya Nagorik Committee spokesperson Samantha Sharmin, convener Nasiruddin Patwari, political affairs secretary Ariful Islam Adeeb, member Saif Mostafiz, anti-discrimination student movement convener Hasnat Abdullah, and member secretary Arif Sohail.
After the meeting, Patwari reiterated that they would advise the government to create a council, including all political parties, to discuss and decide on the next president by consensus.
Leaders of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee and Anti-Discrimination Student Movement have been engaging in talks with six parties and three alliances, including the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, for six days to establish national consensus on a five-point demand, including the removal of the president.
Patwari stated that this meeting was the final one in the series, saying: “The conclusion we have drawn from these few days of discussions is that this president must go. We observed that political parties had not taken this discussion seriously or lacked the motivation to do so.”
“Our efforts, on behalf of the Citizen Committee and Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, helped the political leaders realize the necessity for consensus. They acknowledged that a solution could be reached through discussion in various forums, and it will be resolved,” he added.
Asked if the student leaders had someone in mind for the presidency, he responded: “We have no particular proposal. Let all political parties and stakeholders in the country come together and make a decision. We will also participate in that discussion, but it must not perpetuate a fascist system; that is our main concern.”
“We are not proposing to abolish anything to appoint someone else. Rather, we appeal to political parties to place someone respectable in that position,” he said.
Masud Rana, coordinator of the Left Democratic Alliance (LDA) and Bangladesh Shamajtantrik Dal (Marxist) coordinator, commented after the meeting, “We have emphasized that consensus among political parties is essential. Further actions should be discussed with political parties to finalize the future course. Although we have no moral objection to the president’s removal, the process, and its constitutional basis, require further internal discussions.”
CPB General Secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince responded to journalists, noting that BNP is a prominent political party in the country. “If there is consensus, the leftists, including BNP, should work together to build it. Otherwise, there is no point in moving forward,” he stated, adding that the interim government must make decisions in consultation with political parties.
He urged the government to take action to resolve the crisis, given the current critical situation in the country.
Responding to another question, Rajekuzzaman Ratan, General Secretary of Samajtantrik Sramik Front, remarked that while a mass uprising may not follow formal laws, governance requires law. Thus, while the desire for mass revolution is valid, a systematic transition from fascism to democracy must be pursued.
He said: “We do not want to take any path that might pave the way for new conspiracies.”
During the meeting, the student leaders discussed additional issues with the Left Alliance. The Left Alliance shared that they view the last three elections as illegitimate and that they align with the student leaders on the proposal for a Second Republic Declaration involving widespread public participation inspired by the spirit of the July coup.
They also addressed the existence of syndicates controlling commodity prices and how some political parties continue to operate these syndicates.
The alliance leaders argued that while individuals may have changed, the fascist system has been overtaken by other groups. They affirmed their support for student leaders in upcoming struggles to dismantle that system.
In attendance from the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) were General Secretary Ruhin Hossain (Prince), BASAD Assistant General Secretary Rajekuzzaman Ratan, Left Democratic Alliance coordinator and BASAD (Marxist) coordinator Masud Rana, Revolutionary Communist League central leader Abdus Sattar, Executive President of Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal Abdul Ali, and Democratic Revolutionary Party General Secretary Moshrafa Mishu. The joint delegation also included Jatiya Nagorik Committee spokesperson Samantha Sharmin, convener Nasiruddin Patwari, political affairs secretary Ariful Islam Adeeb, member Saif Mostafiz, anti-discrimination student movement convener Hasnat Abdullah, and member secretary Arif Sohail.
