BNP’s Ishraque says he will be a ‘mayor of the people’

Although he has not officially been sworn in as the mayor of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), BNP leader Ishraque Hossain has assured that he will cooperate with Dhaka's two city corporations in managing waste during the Eid ul-Azha.

In a Facebook post on Friday, he said: "The oath is just a formality. As a mayor of the people, it is my responsibility to ensure that there is adequate preparation for waste management before the upcoming Eid ul-Azha."

"I assure the people of Dhaka that until a mayor is appointed in the north, I will cooperate with the administration and sanitation workers there in carrying out their duties. In the south, I will approve a zone-based monitoring team coordinated with former councillors and candidates from the previous elections."

Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh of the Awami League defeated BNP's International Affairs Committee member Ishraq Hossain by a margin of about 225,000 votes in the Dhaka South City elections held on Feb 1, 2020.

Since the changeover in power, the Dhaka Election Tribunal annulled the results of the polls on Mar 27 and declared Ishraque, son of former undivided Dhaka City Corporation mayor Sadeq Hossain Khoka, as the mayor.

On Apr 27, the Election Commission published a gazette declaring Ishraque the DSCC mayor. But on May 14, Dhaka South City Corporation resident and Supreme Court lawyer Md Mamunur Rashid filed a writ petition in the High Court demanding that he not be sworn in.

Ishraque’s supporters launched a movement on the same day demanding that he be sworn in. Nagar Bhaban – the headquarters of the city corporation administration - was practically paralysed during the protests. Despite this, the Ministry of Local Government refrained from arranging Ishraq's oath-taking ceremony, citing the need to settle the legal complications.

Outraged over this, Ishraque demanded the resignation of Local Government Advisor Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain and Mahfuj Alam in a Facebook post. His supporters also reiterated the same demand.

The High Court dismissed the writ case challenging the Ishraque on Thursday.

After the decision, the BNP leader announced that the protests would be suspended. He set a 48-hour deadline for the oath-taking ceremony that afternoon.

Ishraque also wrote in a Facebook post that he would work with sanitation workers in Dhaka South on Eid-ul-Azha.

Saying that he would take initiatives to create a “comfortable” environment by the afternoon of Eid Day, he wrote on Friday: "I myself will be with the sanitation workers in the south."