The Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal (JCD) has given a 24‑hour ultimatum to remove a photograph of Muhammad Ali Jinnah from the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) archive.
Meanwhile, a video went viral on social media showing a person vandalising the frame of Jinnah’s image and speaking with individuals inside the Ducsu building.
However, the university’s JCD unit president Ganesh Chandra Roy Sahas and general secretary Nahiduzzaman Shipon briefed reporters after the meeting. They warned that if the demand was not met, JCD would stage programmes at the VC’s office and the Ducsu archive.
The leaders also demanded action regarding two pillars erected by Ducsu in July on the university campus.
Ganesh Chandra told journalists, “The Ducsu archive or building is part of Bangladesh’s independence, sovereignty, history, heritage, and pride. Yet two controversial figures’ photographs have been hung there. This is a moral lapse and an act of audacity. Chhatra Dal cannot silently tolerate it.”
He added, “As a democratic student organisation, we came to the DU VC and Ducsu president democratically. Even though the Ducsu election was controversial, we approached the president. We demanded that the two photographs be removed administratively without delay.”
“We gave him a 24‑hour ultimatum. We told the VC that if the photos are not removed within 24 hours, Chhatra Dal will be compelled to announce programmes at the VC’s office and the Ducsu archive,” he also said.
Referring to the July memorial pillars, Ganesh Chandra said, “Responding to demands from Chhatra Dal and other active student organisations, the university administration inaugurated the foundation stone for a memorial to preserve the memory of July.”
“The memorial will be established by the DU administration. But before that, Ducsu secretly built two controversial pillars at night — one in front of the Ducsu building and Madhur Canteen, and another in front of the central mosque and central library,” he added.
