Will claim chair as Dhaka South mayor if not sworn in: Ishraque
The ongoing protest at Nagar Bhaban will be temporarily suspended ahead of Eid, Ishraque says
BNP leader Ishraque Hossain has warned that he will take the oath on his own accord if he is not officially sworn in as Dhaka South mayor.
"This Nagar Bhaban has been under our control for the past two weeks—we have maintained control, we have held it. If I am not sworn in, I can go and sit in the mayor's chair myself. It won't even take two minutes," Ishraque made the announcement during a sit-in of his supporters at the Nagar Bhaban premises, where they have been demonstrating since 14 May.
Addressing authorities, he said, "If you do not arrange the oath-taking ceremony immediately, then I will take the oath myself with the voters of Dhaka South City. I will claim my chair, and the people of Dhaka will determine how Nagar Bhaban will be run.
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"No outsider advisor or administrator will be allowed to run this Nagar Bhaban. This is our final word, this is our final message."
The ongoing protest at Nagar Bhaban will be temporarily suspended ahead of Eid, Ishraque said, adding that it will resume if the demands are not met.
He added, "The people of Dhaka have repeatedly requested me to go to the Shaheed Minar, take the oath with them, and assume responsibility. At that time, we said since we are a political party that believes in due process, our party— especially our lawyers, including Salahuddin Ahmed—have repeatedly contacted the Election Commission and the local government ministry on our behalf. Because we believe in running the state in a lawful manner, we do not want to set a bad precedent."
He further said, "Considering public suffering ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Adha, we have decided to somewhat ease and temporarily pause the protests at Nagar Bhaban.
"However, if a decision is not made regarding the oath after the holidays, we will launch a relentless movement with the people of Dhaka."
Today's protest began around 10:30am with some south city employees also joining the demonstration.
Protesters said the delay in handing over mayoral responsibilities, despite a court verdict in Ishraque's favour, casts doubt on the neutrality of the interim government. They vowed to continue their protest until their demand is fulfilled.
Since 15 May, the protesters have kept the main gate of Nagar Bhaban locked, disrupting services such as holding tax payments, trade license renewals, and birth registrations. Citizens visiting for these services have been turned away.
A city corporation employee said that they are ready to get back to work, but they cannot sit idly while a person elected by the people is not being allowed to take charge.
Another protester alleged that a "certain group" is preventing the handover despite the court verdict declaring Ishraque as mayor.
The Election Commission has said it will act once it receives the court's observation and directive. As of Monday, it had not received a copy of the verdict.
On 27 March, an electoral tribunal declared Ishraque the winner of the 2020 Dhaka South City Corporation election. The Election Commission later issued a gazette on 27 April.
However on 14 May, a writ petition was filed by Supreme Court lawyer Md Mamunur Rashid seeking to block Ishraque's oath-taking.
The local government ministry postponed the swearing-in, citing legal complications. Supporters of Ishraque had been protesting since then, demanding that the BNP leader be sworn in as mayor.
