Any political party that believes in '71, in '52, and embraces '24, I will work with them: Jucsu VP Zitu
After his election, he spoke to The Business Standard’s Sajjad Hossain Shimul about his plans to fulfil students’ rights and aspirations, as well as his possible political identity in the future
Abdur Rashid Zitu has been elected vice-president of Jahangirnagar University Central Students' Union (Jucsu) as an independent candidate. Once a Chhatra League activist, Zitu later emerged as a coordinator of the July Uprising on campus, and has now been elected Jucsu VP from the Independent Students' Coalition panel.
After his election, he spoke to The Business Standard's Sajjad Hossain Shimul about his plans to fulfil students' rights and aspirations, as well as his possible political identity in the future.
How do you feel after being elected? Did you expect to win the VP race against party-backed candidates?
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More than becoming VP, I am happier that Jucsu elections were held after 33 years. From the very beginning students gave me their full support, and I felt that if the election was held, something good might happen. Opinion surveys showed I was ahead of my rival candidate. The students placed their trust in me and elected me.
How do you assess this election?
Holding elections after so long was a challenge for the university administration and the election commission. They tried their best to conduct it fairly. Of course, there were some mismanagements and flaws, that cannot be denied. But there was no ballot rigging. The voting was under CCTV coverage the whole time. However, we had disagreements over the vote-counting method. If it had been announced earlier that the count would be manual, the ballot paper could have been designed differently and would have saved us a lot of hassle.
Your manifesto promised to rid the university of party-backed student politics. How realistic is that now that you are elected?
We have long been trying to end such politics. Because of it, student organisations on campus cannot work in a truly student-friendly way, even if they want to. They are too busy implementing directives imposed by their parent parties. My aim will be to stop this practice and ensure the administration takes the strongest measures against it.
How will you actually root out party-backed student politics from campus?
During the July Uprising, removing this form of politics was a major demand of the students — and it still is. After the uprising, around 7,000 students signed a petition against this type of politics. Every student wants education and research to take place in a healthy environment. Even during the election, we saw Jamaat-e-Islami activists station themselves at the university gate — that too is an example of party-backed politics. We will work, with the support of those who elected us, to eliminate it.
If any elected candidate engages in such politics, we will be compelled to act against them. Our goal is simple: to realise the demands of students and maintain a sound academic environment.
What kind of structure do you want to establish in Jucsu?
Accountability to the students must be ensured. If we centralise power and remove accountability, the risk of straying remains. That's why I want to create a shadow parliament where everyone participates, working as a pressure group on us. That will make our work cleaner and more accountable. I will also try to hold at least one open dialogue meeting with students every month, where they can ask questions freely. Major decisions will be discussed with students beforehand.
What are the most pressing problems students face, and how will you solve them?
The learning environment is a major problem — many academic buildings are inadequate. Several departments face shortages of classrooms and labs. We will prioritise these issues. During the July Uprising, all of us stood shoulder to shoulder against fascism and quickly achieved success. But after the uprising, when we undertook development works on campus, divisions among us hurt the students most. My first task will be to unite those who lost, and those who boycotted the polls for various reasons. If we can come together, we can address the campus's problems.
You were once in the Chhatra League, later you led the July movement against the Awami League, and now in Jucsu you will have to work with many Shibir activists. Can you unite with them?
Everyone knows that at one point I was in Chhatra League out of political reality. Before coming to campus, I had no ties to any political party — you can verify this. Even in Chhatra League, I always raised students' rightful issues, for which I was sometimes labelled as Shibir or leftist.
Were you ever tagged politically?
I never had ties with Shibir, but I was often tagged by Chhatra League. Whether joining leftists to paint graffiti, or in the 2018 quota reform movement, or the 2019 anti-VC protests — I was tagged and even persecuted by Chhatra League. From 1 July, during the uprising, I was under constant mental torture from the then Chhatra League leadership. I always tried to speak out against the Awami League's long misrule, though the political reality made it impossible to do so alone.
If you join national politics in future, which party would you align with?
I want to work for people. If that requires joining a political party, I will join whichever one believes in '71, in '52, and embraces the spirit of '24. That's the kind of party I will work with. But I have promised the students that I will not engage in party politics on campus. When my student life ends, I may enter national politics.
Any message for the students?
I sincerely thank and express my gratitude to my fellow students for trusting us and electing us. But I urge you not to think your responsibility ends with voting. When we start working to realise your rights and demands, we may face obstacles. I ask you to stand by us during those times.
