The central committee of Bangladesh Chhatra League, which was formed for two years, became five-year-old today with no sign of formation of a new committee.

Many leaders of the pro-Awami League student body are frustrated as the committee's tenure expired in 2008.

Some leaders, who have exceeded the age limit of 29 for getting any post

in the central committee, say they would have got a chance to be in the committee had the committee been formed in due time.

A bunch of senior leaders of the committee who aspire for president or general secretary might face the age bar.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina introduced the age limit before forming this committee in 2006. The limit was introduced to keep the BCL leadership among

regular students.

According to the BCL constitution, the central executive committee should be elected every two years through a national council, or else the executive committee will become inactive.

The tenure of the committee can be increased by three months on emergency situations. However, that decision must be made in an extended meeting where presidents and general secretaries of all organisational districts and members of the central executive committee are present.

But, the tenure of the present committee was not extended.

Many leaders of the current committee are no longer students and have started work or their own businesses.

“The organisation is simply stagnant for the last fewyears as there is no democratic practice. Leaders are getting frustrated,” a joint secretary of BCL told The Daily Star preferring not to be named.

The BCL constitution says the central executive committee should meet every two months but the present committee only met four or five times altogether, BCL leaders said.

“The central executive committee meetings are held only before organising programmes on different national days where the top leaders make decisions on their own without consulting other leaders,” said the joint secretary of BCL.

“No one looks after Chhatra League now. It

seems our leader Sheikh Hasina is also not interested in making the organisation functional. The present leaders do not want to step down as they are enjoying it. There is no sign of formation of a new committee which is very frustrating,” another joint secretary of BCLsaid.

Talking to The Daily Star, BCL General Secretary Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Roton said they would take steps for forming a new committee after talking to the "party high command”.

He, however, did not make it clear whether the “high command” he referred to was the ruling Awami League leaders.

“We have completed formation of around 60 unit committees and some more are pending. We will take steps to form a new committee once those committees are formed,” Roton said.

When asked about the age limit of the leaders, he said, “I don't want to talk about the issue.”

BCL President Mahmud Hasan Ripon said, “A fresh central committee will be elected very soon after holding a national council.”