Chhatra League president Saddam Hossain has promised to introduce 'smart and systematic' student politics with the students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).

He said, “We will take the opinion of BUET students. Based on discussions with them, we will go ahead with our organizational activities with a proposal for a systematic student politics.”

The Chhatra League president made this promise in a press conference at Madhur Canteen of Dhaka University on Tuesday after opening the way for the return of student politics in BUET by the order of the High Court.

He said, “BUET students will not be governed by leadership imposed from the center like traditional student politics. BUET students themselves will self-select their leadership. The leadership that will be ideological, patriotic and the leadership that will create the world's best innovators, entrepreneurs from among the students of BUET."

Four and a half years ago, due to the death of a student due to the torture of Chhatra League leaders, student politics was banned in BUET due to the demands of the students. The High Court stayed the ban on Monday, but BUET students said they would stand by their demand for a 'politicized' campus.

Reassuring them, Saddam said, “Student politics will resume in Buet. But we have to think about what kind of student politics it is. This politics is definitely not the student politics of class-exam closure, session jams, ragging-bullying, occupation-trading, murder-terror. This student politics will be modern, contemporary, diverse-creative, knowledge-logic-fact-theory based.”

Chhatra League President says that Chhatra League will not finish its duty by bringing back student politics in BUET. BUET will be the 'model' of student politics.

“Bangladesh Chhatra League will adopt BUET as a model platform to present developed and smart student politics to future developed, smart Bangladesh planned by national treasure Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh Chhatra League urges all the students of BUET to stand by with the determination of cooperation in this historic journey.

"At the same time, Bangladesh Chhatra League is calling on all progressive student organizations, let's leave aside the Gatbandha and start practicing modern, advanced student politics from BUET. Today's generation will not delay to build a beautiful, self-reliant, honorable future, this is the call of Bangladesh Chhatra League.

Chhatra League held a press conference at Dhaka University's Madhur Canteen on Tuesday after opening the way for student politics to return to BUET on the order of the High Court.

Why students oppose politics

Abrar, a resident student of BUET's Sherbangla Hall, was tortured and killed in the room of a BCL leader on the night of October 6, 2019. Buet became furious at that incident. In the face of the students' movement, student politics was banned in BUET.

Since then, the political activities of student organizations were banned in this engineering education institution for the last four and a half years. In the meantime, when a group of activists including the central president of the Chhatra League entered the BUET campus late last night, the students started a new movement.

According to them, Imtiaz Hossain Rahim, a student of the 21st batch of the Civil Engineering Department and a member of the Central Committee of the Chhatra League, organized the gathering in violation of the rules of the university.

In this incident, students held a press conference in front of Shaheed Minar of Buet on Friday afternoon. They staged a sit-in in front of the office of the director of student welfare (DSW) of the university till evening. Later announced the boycott of classes and exams.

Later that night, Imtiaz Hossain Rahim's hall seat was canceled in a notice signed by Professor Forkan Uddin, Registrar of BUET. Besides, a committee was formed to investigate the matter and asked to submit the investigation report by April 8.

Meanwhile, Chhatra League counter-programmed to demand the return of student politics in BUET. They held a rally at Central Shaheed Minar on Sunday and demanded immediate permission to start student politics in BUET campus. Later, hundreds of BCL leaders and activists paid their respects at the Shaheed Minar at the BUET campus.

Meanwhile, Imtiaz Hossain Rahim Rabbi, who was expelled from the hall, filed a writ petition in the High Court on Monday challenging the validity of the ban on student politics. After hearing his application, Justice Md issued a ruling suspending the ban order of Buet. A bench of Khasruzzaman and Justice KM Zahid Sarwar.

BUET Vice Chancellor Professor Satya Prasad Majumder said, "We have to accept what the court says." The order of the court is final. We cannot commit contempt of court."

However, the students urged the Vice-Chancellor to take legal action against the order of the High Court, stating that they were adamant about their expectations.

In a press conference on Monday afternoon, the students said in a written statement, "We will demand from the BUET administration that the opinions of the general students should be properly presented in the judicial department." We are united and adamant about the rationale of the demand that there should be no student politics in the campus.

"Student politics which fosters ragging culture, opens avenues for abuse of power, which victimises innocent students, has never brought us anything good, and will never bring us. As the ultimate cost, we are our Ex-Kunnahar Soni Apu of Chemistry 99, Mechanical Engineering 09. Arif Raihan Dwip Bhai