A student organisation has demanded the trial of former interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus and former health adviser Nurjahan Begum, alleging that over 300 children have died from measles nationwide due to the previous administration’s negligence.
Biplobi Chhatra Maitree made the demand on Wednesday afternoon at a protest rally held at the foot of the Anti-Terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture on the Dhaka University campus.
The organisation also called on the government to declare measles a “pandemic” and take comprehensive steps to curb its spread.
Addressing the rally, the group’s general secretary Jabir Ahmed Jubel alleged that the interim government pushed children towards death for their own profit. “This crime must be met with severe punishment,” he said.
Jubel claimed that measles outbreaks have been reported in 58 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts. “Neither during the interim government’s tenure nor under the current government have we seen effective measures. It seems they are waiting to see how many more hundreds of lives are lost,” he added.
He also criticised Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) leaders for objecting to the setup of a temporary medical camp for measles on the university’s central playground.
Jubel demanded immediate treatment and preventive measures for those infected, warning that if the government fails to act, his organisation will launch a “more relentless movement”.
Zahidul Islam Riad, general secretary of the organisation’s DU branch, said over 300 children have officially died in hospitals from measles so far. “Parents are still wailing on the streets, in front of clinics, at hospital doors. During that time, Dr Yunus was in Japan exchanging flowers with Japanese children,” he alleged.
Riad claimed that the death of a child was treated as “merely a transactional fault” by the previous government.
He further alleged that the former Yunus government and Nurjahan Begum had ignored multiple warnings and taken tender-based initiatives to purchase vaccines. According to Riad, the goal was not to secure quality vaccines but to achieve government savings and “so-called business success” by procuring the cheapest vaccines.
Dilip Ray, president of Biplobi Chhatra Maitree, said the mass uprising overthrew a fascist government like the Awami League for the sake of a better tomorrow. “That tomorrow belongs to our children. This measles crisis is not natural — it is man-made,” he asserted.
Ray criticised parliament for ignoring important issues like the US agreement and the measles outbreak. He also accused both Jamaat and BNP of remaining silent on the issue.
Addressing the “Tawhidi janata”, he said, “Even though they shout slogans against Delhi, in their hearts they lean towards Washington.”
