October 24, 2024 – Bangladesh is once again in a state of turmoil as students return to the streets demanding the resignation of President Mohammad Shahabuddin. Led by the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, students on October 22 surrounded the Presidential Palace in Dhaka, giving the President a two-day ultimatum to step down.

The protest ended in clashes with riot police as demonstrators tried to storm the President’s residence. Thirty people were injured in the rioting.

The student movement, which had spearheaded the campaign to oust Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, held a rally at the central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka. They made a five-point demand, including the President's resignation.

The protest comes in the wake of the President's remarks regarding former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation, implying that the interim government formed under Mohammad Yunus is unconstitutional. The President told the media that he had no document evidence to confirm that Sheikh Hasina has resigned, suggesting that Constitutionally, she is still the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

In an interview with Bengali daily Manab Zamin last week, President Shahabuddin had said, "Perhaps she (Hasina) did not have the time." He added that he had not actually seen a written letter from Hasina to that effect, thus raising the prospect that her resignation was unconstitutional. The President also sought the opinion of the Bangladesh Supreme Court on this matter.

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the son of Sheikh Hasina, had made a similar assertion in August that his mother did not step down and is still the Prime Minister of the country.

Source: Media Reports