Before being nominated as Bangladesh Chhatra League's Dhaka University (DU) unit General Secretary, Tanbir Hasan Shaikat, as a DU Central Students' Union (DUCSU) member took the lead to thwart the construction of a metro rail station near TSC on the campus in 2019.
But now he has taken a u-turn after the construction of a station in the same place, organising a day-long thanksgiving programme for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday.
Following the colourful event to express gratitude to Sheikh Hasina, Shaikat has been largely criticised by the DU students and different student bodies and facing mockeries as he changed his stance after being nominated as a bigwig of the ruling Awami League's student wing.
In 2019, Shaikat along with another DUCSU member Mahmudul Hasan expressed solidarity with the continuous protest programmes organised by the left-leaning student organisations at the base of Raju Memorial Sculpture demanding the authorities concerned to move away from the decision to construct a metro rail station on the campus.
Shaikat at that time took oath to prevent the authorities from building the station at any cost.
He also shared a number of photos on his verified Facebook account where he held placards that read, "We Don't Accept Any Station on Campus."
However, he changed his stance over time.
Talking to the Daily Observer, Shaikat, also a United Nation acclaimed Real Life Hero, said, "I expressed solidarity with Dhaka University's general students' demand to move away the station from the TSC area to somewhere else on the campus as it's a traditional and historic place. Our programme was successful. The station was transferred from the TSC area to the Bangla Academy gate."
Talking to this correspondent, many student leaders said that Shaikat is now lying as he did not demand to transfer the station from the TSC area to another place; rather he demanded not to construct any station on the entire campus.
