DHAKA, July 11, 2024 (BSS) - Admitting the validity of the students' demands for quota reform, leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra league (BCL) today urged the students to get back to classrooms and keep trust in judiciary as the court had already made a decision and the Appellate Division had taken four weeks to review the case.

"The quota system is an inclusive framework that ensures participation and gender balance. The government and the High Court are actively working to resolve this issue. Students need to be patient," BCL president Saddam Hussein told a press conference at Dhaka University's Madhur Canteen this noon.

Saddam said, "Some students are creating an artificial crisis by blocking roads and rail lines, which is causing public suffering. That's why we are requesting students to return to their classes and take part in the exams".

Following the Supreme Court's status quo on the High Court order reinstating quotas in government jobs, general students have already left the protests but some protesters have been trying to extend the movement and use it politically, Saddam said, adding, "BCL is ready to face them".

This is not an anti-discrimination student movement as statistics show that quotas are essential for ensuring gender balance and an inclusive administration, said Saddam.

Emphasizing the importance of trusting the country's independent judiciary, Saddam urged the protesters to avoid making the public as hostage, saying, "Those who are agitating please wait and have trust in the court. Chhatra League thinks that the court will give the decision which is good for the people of the country".

Saddam said there should be some quotas for those who are still unprivileged in the country, including women and indigenous people of Chattogram Hill Tracts. No one has the right to decide the fate of disadvantaged people from Dhaka, he added.

They need logical and justified quotas and that is possible through discussion with all shareholders, he further said.
 
As the court had already made a decision and the Appellate Division had taken four weeks to review the case, students should keep trust in judiciary and get back to the classrooms, said BCL General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Inan, adding, "Using blockades to press their demands is not supportable".

BCL's DU unit President Mazharul Kabir Shayon, General Secretary Tanbir Hasan Shaikat, Dhaka City South unit President Rajibul Islam Bappy, General Secretary Sajal Kundu, Dhaka City north unit president Riaz Mahmud and General Secretary Sagor Ahmed were also present at the press conference.
 
In the afternoon, the BCL leaders and activists also staged a rally at the premises of Anti-terrorists-Raju Memorial Sculpture.