Thikana cancels interview with Chhatra League president amid criticism

Amid widespread criticism, US based Bangla news outlet “Thikana” has suspended its scheduled interview with the president of the banned organization Chhatra League, Saddam Hossain.

On Wednesday, Khaled Muhiuddin, host of the “Thikana-e Khaled Muhiuddin” show, announced this decision in a Facebook post.

Earlier, a post on the show’s Facebook page had informed that Chhatra League’s central president Saddam Hossain, recently affected by a government ban, would appear on the show on Thursday, at 9pm Bangladesh time.

The announcement sparked intense criticism on social media.

Hasnat, a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, wrote on his social media: “Promoting the president of a banned organization is a betrayal of the anti-fascist movement’s martyrs and our National Revolution and Solidarity.”

In a separate post, Sarjis wrote: “Khaled Muhiuddin Bhai, how many leaders of banned organizations have you interviewed before? This is a betrayal to over 2,000 martyrs and to the blood of our tens of thousands of injured siblings.”

In response, Khaled Muhiuddin posted on Facebook, saying: “According to the interim government’s decision, Bangladesh Chhatra League is currently a banned organization. Based on advice from multiple lawyers, airing statements from anyone in Chhatra League would not be legally appropriate from a Bangladesh perspective. Therefore, the program featuring the president of the banned Chhatra League has been suspended.”