Court only arbitrator on quota issue, students must not be misguided: FM

Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Saturday said the government in its previous term abolished quota system in top public service recruitment for benefitting the students, and now that the Supreme Court has reinstated it, the solution to the debate rests with the judiciary.

As the issue is pending trial at the top court, the government cannot take any decision bypassing the judiciary, he added.

Addressing those individuals “who do not understand this fact, or are not willing to understand or are being provoked by BNP and others” the minister said, “don’t misguide the soft-hearted students.”

The foreign minister was speaking at a programme held for celebrating the ruling Awami League’s (AL) 75th founding anniversary and felicitating the senior party members in Bogura at Shahid Titu Auditorium, Edward Park in Bogura town.

The government is resolved to act against those who are causing public sufferings in the name of quota reform protests, despite realising that the answer to their questions must come from the Supreme Court and not the government.

Hopefully, the protesting university students would wait until the Supreme Court issues its final verdict on the matter, Hasan Mahmud said.