Poetic justice? ‘Student protestors’ in Bangladesh now demand resignation of Muhammad Yunus’ adviser, who masterminded the ouster of Sheikh Hasina
On Tuesday (22nd July), ‘student protestors’ broke through the gates of the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka, demanding the resignation of ‘Education Adviser’ Mahfuj Alam and Education Secretary Siddique Zobair.
According to reports, the students gathered outside Gate No. 1 of the Secretariat and chanted slogans against Alam and Zobair. They vandalised vehicles and threw bricks at the police.
The cops responded with sound grenades and tear gas. The ‘student protestors’ threatened to carry out more intense demonstrations if the Education Adviser and Education Secretary did not step down within 24 hours.
They were aghast over the decision to postpone the HSC exam. At least 15 people were injured in the scuffle between police and ‘student protestors’
Following the controversy, Mahfuj Alam posted on Facebook that the Education Secretary Siddique Zobair has been removed from his post. However, he did not resign from his position as ‘Education Adviser.’
Demands for Alam’s resignation were previously made by Gono Odhikar Parishad in May this year for mocking Islamic scholars and madrassa students. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) also made similar calls for his resignation.
But life seems to have come to a full circle for Mahfuz Alam. In September 2024, ‘chief advisor to the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, hailed Alam as the ‘brain’ behind the sinister campaign to remove Sheikh Hasina from power.
“He (Mahfuz Alam) denies it repeatedly that ‘it’s not me but many others’. But he’s the brain behind the whole thing…this amazing meticulously designed thing,” Yunus was heard saying.
“It (did) not just come up suddenly, it’s very well-designed. You can’t recognise who’s the leader… so you can’t catch one and say it’s over,” he further added.
Mahfuz Alam, who once oversaw the fall of Sheikh Hasina, is now witnessing protests seeking his own resignation.
While he has temporarily dodged the bullet, he may eventually have to give in to the demands of the ‘student protestors’ whose undemocratic ways he helped mainstream last year.
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