Bangladesh is seeing another round of unrest as protesters have now targeted the Presidential palace. They are demanding the resignation of President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The student movement, which led the campaign to oust Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, held a rally at the central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka earlier on Tuesday. They made a five-point demand, including the president's resignation, reported TOI.

The protesters marched towards the Bangabhaban at night and were met with barricades set up by the army. They, however, gathered outside the palace chanting slogans calling for the President's resignation. "The President is a crony of Hasina's authoritarian government. He must resign immediately", a protester said.

Shahbuddin is the 16th president of Bangaldesh. He was elected unopposed in the 2023 presidential election, nominated by the Awami League.

What started as a student movement against discrimination, has now called for the abolition of the 1972 constitution and the drafting of a new one that reflects the context of 2024.

The students have also demanded the banning of the Awami League's student organisation, Bangladesh Chatra League. They have called for the elections held in 2014, 2018, and 2024 under Sheikh Hasina to be declared illegal and for the disqualification of the Members of Parliament.

The protests, which began in July with students demanding an end to the quota system for government jobs, evolved into anti-government demonstrations. As the protests intensified, Sheikh Hasina resigned as the country's prime minister on August 5 and fled to India.

An interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was established, and on August 8, Yunus was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh's interim government.

Source: The Economic Times 

BDST: 1137 HRS, OCT 23, 2024
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