Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is facing online criticism after appearing to cry during a visit to a metro station damaged in recent anti-quota protests by student. She is being accused of shedding crocodile tears for shattered glass and other destruction caused by the protest, and not for scores of students who died when her security forces used excessive force to quell the agitation. At least 150 people died in the protests, according to reports.
Why did Bangladesh PM Sheik Hasina cry?
PM Hasina appeared to cry and wipe her tears with tissue paper when visiting the metro station in Mirpur on Thursday (July 25).
A traffic control facility and ticket machines at the station were damaged in the protests, led mainly by students who are protesting quotas in high-paying government jobs. Protesters had gone on a rampage at some metro stations after services were suspended on 18 July.
“What kind of mentality leads them to destroy facilities that make people’s lives easier? I cannot accept the destruction of this transport facility made with modern technology,” Hasina was quoted as saying in the Bangladeshi newspaper The Business Standard.
“The countrymen must stand against those who destroyed the development by the government and judge the perpetrators themselves,” she said.
How did the internet react to Hasina wiping tears?
The BBC quoted journalist Zulkarnian Saer as saying that while Hasina had time to visit the train station, she did not visit families of students who were shot dead.
His comments came even as videos were posted on the social platform X, including one appearing to show a mother crying over the dead body of her son in a hospital bed, who was reportedly clubbed to death by security forces.
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“Bangladesh’s PM #SheikhHasina crying “crocodile tears” while visiting a metro train station that was destroyed during anti-government protests,” journalist Salman Ali Awan wrote on X, along with hashtags #Crocodiletears and #DictatorHasina. “At leat 150 people have been killed as a result brutal crack down by #AwamiLeague govt [sic],” he wrote.
What are the Bangladesh protests about?
The protests were led by college students earlier this month against reservation in government jobs. The main bone of contention was a 30 per cent quota in top public jobs for relatives of those who took part in Bangladesh’s independence struggle from Pakistan in 1971.
On July 21, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh set aside most of the quotas and ruled that 93 per cent of jobs be filled on merit.
The protests have since subsided but some students are demanding justice for those killed, and release of their leaders, for which they vowed to continue the agitation.
(With inputs from agencies)
Vinod Janardhanan
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Publish date : 2024-07-26 04:37:35
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