The protests in Bangladesh flared up again and demonstrators stormed the Banga Bhaban seeking the resignation of President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The movement is spearheaded by the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, and these students have formulated a five-point agenda that demands the resignation of the president and the abolition of the constitution drafted in 1972.
Protests in Bangladesh have picked steam once again with the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024. She has reportedly crossed over to India. Calls for a political overhaul have gone red-hot. Earlier this week, student leaders rallied at Dhaka’s Shaheed Minar as they gave voice to their demand list. Those included the disbanding of the Awami League’s student wing: Bangladesh Chatra League and the formulation of a new constitution that maps truth to present political realities.
Resign immediately: Chant people as protests in Bangladesh flare up again
Later at night, the protesters proceeded to Banga Bhaban where military barricades were ready to bar their way. For the third day running, the Bangladesh protests reached their peak as they chorused slogans calling for the resignation of Shahabuddin, branding him a close relative of Hasina’s authoritarian government. “He must resign immediately,” shouted one of the protesters who was an apt blend of the mood against the president who, in 2023, contested and won unopposed on the nomination of Awami League.
Students have once again led the protests in Bangladesh, whose initial thrust was to abolish the quota system for public service jobs. But the movement has now turned into an all-encompassing demand to change the political regime, at least demanding annulment of both the 2018 and 2024 elections and thereby invalidating the electoral MPs themselves.
After Hasina’s resignation, Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus became head of the interim government on August 8. Exit for the former prime minister is still not at an end since challenges surface both for her and her family. The U.S. has cancelled her visa, and the UK has refused her appeal for asylum. Hence, the fate of Hasina remains uncertain since her journey continues; meanwhile, protests in Bangladesh again resurface over demands for major political reforms.
Also, see: Supreme Court Declares Bangladeshi Migrants Illegal Who Entered Assam on or After March 25, 1971