Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on Thursday said Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has infiltrated student and teacher movements over quota system and pension, as the party "lacks the capability to initiate independent actions."
"Those fuelling and trying to mislead people (by infiltrating these student and teacher movements), their efforts will not be successful," the minister said during a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club.
Hasan, who is also Awami League's joint general secretary, clarified that the government had cancelled the quota system in response to student demands.
He emphasised that the reinstatement of the quota system was a court decision, not a government action. "The protest is surely against the court decision. The solution also needs to come from the court," he stated.
Earlier on Thursday, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld a High Court verdict restoring the 30 per cent quota for freedom fighters' descendants in 9th to 13th-grade government jobs. The ruling sparked protests among students opposing the reinstatement.
In a sharp critique, the minister described BNP as a "party of parasites."
"BNP has no capacity to go for any movement," he said, adding that the party is now haunted by the "Tarique-ghost," a reference to the influence of Tarique Rahman, the exiled acting chairman BNP.
"BNP leaders are also panicked about losing their party posts," he said, suggesting internal turmoil within the opposition party.
