Govt disrupting Dhaka South city services: Ishraque
“Even while our movement is ongoing, we have kept emergency services running. But we’ve heard that the government, particularly Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud Sojib Bhuiyan, has instructed city corporation officials not to carry out their duties,” he said
BNP leader Ishraque Hossain has alleged that the government is deliberately disrupting the services of the Dhaka South City Corporation in various ways.
"We are doing our best to provide services to the city residents, but the government is creating obstacles," Ishraque said while addressing employees of the corporation and participants of the ongoing protest at Nagar Bhaban today (18 June).
"Even while our movement is ongoing, we have kept emergency services running. But we've heard that the government, particularly Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud Sojib Bhuiyan, has instructed city corporation officials not to carry out their duties," he said.
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"Yesterday, we came to know that the local government adviser and the secretary have ordered regional executive officers of the corporation not to sign off on birth certificates or citizenship documents. This is a disgraceful act. They are trying to create service disruptions and then shift the blame onto us. While we want to keep services uninterrupted, they are actively creating obstacles," he added.
"Yesterday, Asif Mahmud said that I had allegedly broken the law and committed a criminal offence. I want to ask him - if I have truly committed a crime, then why, despite being in government, have you not filed a complaint against me with law enforcement? Why haven't you instructed the authorities to arrest me?" Ishraque asked.
"We are not afraid of these threats. We have fought against the murderer Hasina for 17 years - we have struggled, we've been jailed, we've been disappeared. We have endured every form of oppression in our fight to establish people's rights," he added.
"So, if immature advisers like you wish to speak with us, even engaging in that conversation is insulting to us," he said.
"For everything that is happening today, this current government must be held accountable. The government is using such individuals to speak on its behalf in an attempt to undermine and belittle us," he claimed.
Meanwhile, for the third day today, Ishraque held a meeting with employees, former councilors, and his supporters at the Nagar Bhaban auditorium. Today's meeting featured a banner introducing Ishraque as "mayor-elect". In the meetings of the last two days, he was introduced as "mayor".
