Ishraque vows to take mayor oath himself if government delays further

In his persistent push to assume office as Dhaka South mayor, BNP leader Ishraque Hossain has warned he will swear himself in if the government keeps delaying the process.

Speaking at the Nagar Bhaban at 3pm on Tuesday, he said no “outsider”, such as public administrators or government advisors, will be allowed to operate in the building.

He said, “You have seen that the interim government and some of its advisors have been biased, making excuses after the verdict of our election.

“By not administering the oath, they have violated the Constitution of Bangladesh and disrespected the power of the Election Commission (EC).

“They do not respect the court of law, nor do they respect the Election Commission. If they do not respect the Constitution, then what do they follow? These are the people of Bangladesh, if we start disobeying them from tomorrow, then who will take responsibility for it?”

Criticising the interim government, Ishraq said the position of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) mayor was a “very minor” one and putting forth excuses over swearing him in, despite the Supreme Court verdict, raises questions over how a “fair and impartial” election can be held under the rule of the interim government.

‘RESIGNATION DRAMA’

Ishraque accused the government of staging a “resignation drama” to impede his mayoral movement.

He said, “When we repeatedly submitted our written requests to the government after the court’s verdict and the gazette publication, they ignored us. Then the voters of Dhaka South took to the streets and have been protesting for a long time. We surrounded the [State Guest House Jamuna] for two days to achieve our demands.

“What we saw then was a new drama shaping in front of the nation -- a drama of resignation was staged aimed at emotionally blackmailing the nation. Running the state does not involve emotions.

“It is a matter of earning a living for 180 million people. Resigned whenever out of boredom and leaving does not serve towards the well-being of the people.”

He said, “Our party has named three advisors and demanded their immediate resignation, who are a threat to the country and the nation, a threat to the democracy of Bangladesh. But we have not seen any action against them so far.”

‘OATH-TAKING BY MYSELF’

Ishraque criticised the government’s inaction over implementing the top court ruling about swearing him as DSCC mayor immediately.

He said, “What happened when we surrounded Jamuna earlier? After staging a drama, [the government] promised a solution. We left the road by ourselves, considering the suffering of the people; not by anyone’s order.

“We thought the government would solve the problem. Later, we saw through their deception and they were exposed.”

Ishraque said, “We have been in control of this Nagar Bhaban for two weeks, we have occupied it. If they hold the oath-taking, I can go and [assume the role myself], it will not take even two minutes.

“The people of Dhaka have repeatedly asked me why I am not taking the oath myself at Shaheed Minar. I said since we are a systematic political party, our leaders have also contacted us at various levels on behalf of our party,” he said.

“The Election Commission and the ministry have been contacted repeatedly. Because we believe in systematic state governance. We do not want to leave a bad example.

“But I am forced to tell this government that if you do not take measures to administer the oath soon, then I will take the oath myself along with the voters of Dhaka city south and sit in my chair.”

Since the fire at the Secretariat, Local Government Advisor Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain has taken office at the DSCC as officials of the division also went to work at the Nagar Bhaban.

Ishraque said, “The people of Dhaka will decide how the Nagar Bhaban will run. No external advisor or external administrator will be allowed to operate this Nagar Bhaban, it will not happen. This is our last word, our last message.”

EASING PROTEST

Three weeks into the protests, Ishraque has called on his supporters to ease the sit-in at the Nagar Bhaban with the Eid-ul-Azha approaching.

He said, “Keeping the upcoming Eid in sight, the suffering of the people and facilitating their movement, we have relaxed the current blockade and siege of the city hall and will take a break [from protests] for a while.

“If there is no clear message from the government regarding the oath-taking ceremony after the holidays, we will establish the right of Dhaka residents to vote through a strong movement by bringing all levels of people in Dhaka South forward.”

HOW PROTESTS STARTED

The most recent DSCC election was held on Feb 1, 2020.

Awami League candidate Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh defeated BNP’s Ishraque, son of former Dhaka mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, by nearly 200,000 votes in the polls.

Following the change in government, the Dhaka Election Tribunal on Mar 27 annulled the 2020 results and declared Ishraque the rightful mayor.

The EC subsequently published a gazette notification on Apr 27, formally recognising him as DSCC mayor.

However, on May 14, a resident of Dhaka South and Supreme Court lawyer Md Mamunur Rashid filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking to halt Ishraque’s swearing-in.

In response, Ishraque’s supporters began protesting the same day, demanding that he be sworn in. Their demonstrations brought administrative operations at Nagar Bhaban to a virtual standstill.

Citing legal complexities, the Local Government Division held back on arranging the swearing-in until the matter was resolved in the judiciary.

Ishraque has expressed his anger over the decision and has demanded the resignation of Advisor Asif Mahmud over the delay.

The High Court dismissed the plea on May 22 on the grounds that the petitioner did not have the jurisdiction to file such a plea.

The petitioner then filed an appeal in the Appellate Division against the High Court order on Monday.

After hearing the leave to appeal, the Appellate Division disposed of the petition with observations on Thursday.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the role of the EC, the top court said that the polls watchdog was unable to properly fulfil its constitutional responsibility in this matter.