Quota Reform Movement: Violence Grips Bangladesh, Govt Ready To Talk
In Bangladesh, at least four killed and hundreds injured in clashes between quota reform protesters and the police on Thursday during nationwide shutdown. The protesters on Wednesday called for a complete shutdown across the country to push home their demand to reform the quota system and protests the attacks on student protesters.
The protesters demonstrating against the government’s handling of the ongoing quota reform movement blocked major national highways, snapped Dhaka’s rail communication with the rest of the country and also paralysed metro rail operations in Dhaka.
Meanwhile, the Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister of Bangladesh Anisul Huq said that the government agrees in principle on quota reform and is ready to hold talks with the quota reform protesters, reports Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS). “The Prime Minister has given me and Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury the responsibility to hold talks with them. We want to have talks with them whenever they want, if they want to hold talks today, we are ready to do this,” the law minister said while briefing the media in Dhaka.
In view of the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Thursday issued an advisory for the Indian community members and the Indian students residing in Bangladesh to avoid local travel and minimize their movement outside their living premises.
To maintain law and order situation, the government has deployed 229 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in addition to various police agencies across the country.
The universities Students and teachers have been staging protests demanding quota reforms in government jobs since July 1. Six people were killed and scores were injured on Tuesday as students’ protests against the job quota across the country turned deadly amid alleged attacks by police and ruling party affiliated student organisations on protesters...read morey