Hasina inaugurates 28th BCL council

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the ruling party president, inaugurated the 28th national council of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) at Dhaka’s Suhrawardy Udyan on Saturday. Several thousands leaders and activists of BCL, the student wing of the of Awami League, (AL) have been converging on the green lush of the historic Suhrawardy Udyan since early morning Saturday. BCL men came to the venue in big as well as small processions from all over the country and gathered there to join the two-day council which began around 11:15am amid festive mood. Prime minister Hasina declared the 28th BCL council open around 11:30am. Party sources said new committee of the BCL  will be formed through the council. The BCL constitution provides for the election of new leaders every two years. But, this council is being held after four years. An earlier report said some aspirants alleged that no one from outside former BCL chief Liakat Shikdar’s ‘syndicate’ ever made it to the central committee since 2006. They said that BCL is set to elect a new leadership but its former chief appears to be casting a shadow on the proceedings. Some claim it is impossible to get posts in the committee without the ‘blessings’ of Shikdar’s ‘syndicate’ – an allegation the former BCL chief, who led the student body a decade ago, trashes as ‘propaganda’. The BCL often made headlines with its factional clashes in universities after the AL came to power, drawing criticism from various quarters. Its current chief, Badiuzzaman Shohag, had said at an event last year that many were misusing the BCL’s name for personal ends. A BCL leader told bdnews24.com that many dedicated leaders had been sidelined with the present committee overstaying in office for two years. Allegations are that Shohag and General Secretary Siddiqui Nazmul Alam were deliberately stalling the council. “Besides, there’s that syndicate. The Chhatra League will not find an able leadership until the syndicate is eradicated,” said a BCL leader, choosing to remain anonymous. Some pointed fingers at Shikder, who led the BCL between 2002 and 2006, when quizzed about the ‘syndicate’. Many of those aspiring for a place in the new committee ducked the question, saying they were in no mood to speak their mind before the election. “The posts were decided the night before the Ripon-Roton committee (the previous one) was elected,” one of them claimed. “The same thing had happened in the case of the present one. No one from outside Shikdar’s syndicate has been part of the central committee since 2006. It is unlikely that things will change this time,” he added. Monwarul Islam Masud, the present BCL senior vice president, alleged Shikdar was interfering with the student body’s functioning. “In the last council, he had initially supported the Masud-Rahat panel but later helped the Shohag-Najmul panel win, realising he wouldn’t be able to manipulate us,” he claimed. There will be 25 councillors each from 101 organisational districts, said Shohag.

-mbz