Mahmudur Rahman places 7 demands including BCL ban

Mahmudur Rahman, acting editor of the daily Amar Desh, placed a seven-point demand today including ban on the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) within seven days.
He characterised BCL as a “terrorist organisation”.
After returning to the country and serving five days in jail, Mahmudur made the statement during his first press meet with journalists at the Jatiya Press Club today.
Presenting his demands, Mahmudur said, “The Bangladesh Chhatra League must be immediately declared a terrorist and illegal organisation. Over the past 16 years, BCL was solely responsible for every terrorist activity or incident that occurred in Bangladesh.”
“During the student uprising, thousands of young people across the country were killed, including Abu Sayed and Mughda. The police, along with the BCL’s gang of thugs, were involved in these murders.”
He added, “On behalf of the Amar Desh family, myself, and the journalist community, I am giving the interim government an ultimatum. Within seven days, the BCL must be banned as a terrorist organisation. Otherwise, I will lead the journalist community in protests on the streets.”
Among other demands, Rahman called on the interim government to take responsibility of those injured during the student-led mass uprising, facilitating their treatment at home and abroad and ensuring their rehabilitation. He suggested forming a four-member committee consisting of advisers from the health, finance, and industries ministries, along with the Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant, Mahfuj Alam.
He proposed renaming the Jamuna Bridge to “Abu Sayed Bridge” so that the people would remember him every time they entered North Bengal.
Mahmudur said that all clauses and sub-clauses of treaties signed with India since 2009 must be made public. The people have the right to know details of these agreements.
A committee should be formed to review these treaties, comprising patriotic individuals. However, individuals like Iftekharuzzaman of TIB or Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, who are perceived as fascists or pro-India agents, should not be included in this committee, he added.
He demanded that the name of Bangabandhu Avenue must be changed to Shaheed Abrar Avenue in his honour as the student-led revolution began with the martyrdom of Shaheed Abrar, who stood firmly against Indian hegemony.
He also described Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the first leader of dictators in independent Bangladesh, stating that “Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the idol of Sheikh Hasina’s fascism.”
He further demanded the immediate withdrawal of Saima Wazed Putul’s nomination from the World Health Organization (WHO), arguing that her nomination was fraudulent.
Mahmudur also claimed that his BUET classmate Brigadier General (Retd) Abdur Rahim, who was former NSI chief, was a victim of negligent homicide.
“I learned about this while in prison,” he said. “Rahim was accused in the 10-truck arms case. Although it was reported that he died of a heart attack, I came to know that after his heart attack, he was taken to the ICU, where the electricity was deliberately cut off for two to three hours.”
He also alleged that BNP leader Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu was murdered in prison.
Mahmudur Rahman called for the formation of a judicial inquiry committee, led by a judge from the Appellate Division, to investigate the deaths of these two individuals.