BNP wants to swallow whole country: Sadik Kayem

Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) Vice-President (VP) Sadik Kayem has accused the ruling BNP of being involved in a “mob culture” across the country.

He said it seemed that the BNP wanted to “swallow the entire country at once” if possible.

Sadik Kayem made the remarks in a Facebook post on Wednesday

(7 October) afternoon (7 October), following an alleged mob attack on the Vice-Chancellor of Rajshahi Medical University and the forcible collection of his signature on a resignation letter.

Referring to recent attacks on journalists at Dhaka University and Rajshahi University, Sadik Kayem said, “After attacks on journalists at Dhaka University and Rajshahi University, a mob attack was now carried out on the Vice-Chancellor of Rajshahi Medical University, and he was forced to sign a resignation letter.”

“Different newspapers reported the incident with photographs of those involved. They are Kamal Hossain, president of the Zia Moncho city unit; its organising secretary Harunur Rashid; and Rajpara Police Station unit BNP Vice-President Abdus Salam. They directly forced the VC to sign the resignation letter,” he said.

“It has happened that 40 to 50 people from the ruling party forcibly took the resignation letter from a public university VC in broad daylight. It is a rare incident,” Sadik Kayem said.

“After taking power, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said that the mob culture had ended. But now the reality is that BNP party men are establishing mobocracy across the country,” the DUCSU VP said.

Sadik Kayem said the most concerning aspect of the incident was that the ruling party men were reportedly unhappy over tender and contract-related works at the university.

“The most dangerous thing is that the matter behind the incident was the ruling party men’s displeasure over the tender and contract work of the university. Is it possible to take an administrative decision at a university only after obtaining permission from ruling party cadres?” he asked.

He said the silence of the Home Ministry and the Education Ministry over the incident had left the people of the country astonished.

“If it means that university projects are supposed to be handed over to the dominance of ruling party men, has this become the rule?” Sadik Kayem questioned.

He wrote, “BNP, which was starved for 17 years, is now so hungry. They want to swallow the entire country at once.”