Nur assumes office as Ducsu holds first meeting
Nurul Haque Nur, who was elected vice-president of Dhaka University Central Students' Union, finally assumed office today as the union became functional after nearly three decades with the first executive meeting of the elected leaders.
Amid calls for re-election from a number of major panels, the meeting started at the Ducsu building around 11:00am with Ducsu President and Dhaka University Vice-chancellor Prof Md Akhtaruzzaman in the chair.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Ducsu General Secretary Golam Rabbani delivered the welcome speech and introduced the elected panel leaders of the central council.
DU VC Prof Md Akhtaruzzaman validated the newly-elected council for one year.
Ducsu Assistant General Saddam Hossain told media that they would pay homage to the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in front of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi 32, Central Shaheed Minar and Memory Eternal sculpture on the campus today.
Elaborate preparations were taken at the Ducsu building for holding the first executive meeting.
Nur, also a popular figure of the quota reform movement, yesterday announced that he and the other leader of his panel would take charge alongside continuing movement for re-election.
Meanwhile, several activists of leftist organization Chhatra Federation were seen staging a demonstration to press for the re-election to Ducsu. As part of the demonstration, they formed a human chain in front of the Ducsu building.
Elsewhere, several hundred activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), student front of opposition BNP, marched the campus covering their mouths with black clothes demanding immediate reschedule of the Ducsu polls scrapping the results of the March 11 elections.
HOW DID NUR FREQUENTLY CHANGE HIS STANCE?
On the election day, Nur's panel Sadharan Chhatra Odhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad boycotted the election and demanded re-election, raising allegations of irregularities.
The next day, the Ducsu VP-elect changed his stance and demanded re-election to all posts, except for the VP and social services affairs secretary.
But a few hours later, after holding a discussion with the other wings of protesting student, he demanded re-election to all posts.
The same afternoon, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) President Rezwanul Haque Chowdhury Shovon, who was defeated in the race for VP post, congratulated Nur at TSC auditorium on campus, and Nur expressed solidarity with BCL to work together for ensuring rights of all students.
Hours later, he again said BCL men had carried out several attacks on him and he was not going to forget the scars only because they greeted him.
On March 13, Nur went to meet the students of Ruqayyah Hall, who were observing a hunger strike in front of the hall gate demanding fresh polls to their hall union, and to take their opinion about whether he should take the charge. The agitating students then asked him to step aside.
Nur, along with all the elected representatives of the Ducsu and hall unions met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Gono Bhaban on March 16, where he sought the PM's all-out cooperation for the proper functioning of the students' body.
The next day, he along with five panels called a sit-in programme for March 18, demanding re-election to all posts of Ducsu and hall unions.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE DUCSU ELECTIONS?
The 28-year-long wait to Ducsu election was marred in election boycott by all the major panels over allegations of irregularities and vote rigging.
Only Bangladesh Chhatra League was the major panel left contesting in the election.
The other panels exploded in protests after boycotting the election and protested in campus demanding re-election to Ducsu. They also called a student strike.
Proof of irregularities was found in Bangladesh-Kuwait Maitree Hall, for which the provost was relieved of duties on Monday. Stashed unstamped ballots were found in Ruqayyah Hall.
Also, there was allegation of physical assault on Nurul Haque Nur and another attempted attack on leftists’ panel leader Liton Nandi.
Later, in the results announced in the wee hours of March 12, Nur was announced as the vice president, Chhatra League’s Golam Rabbani as general secretary, and Saddam Hossain as assistant general secretary.
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