Would've taken the mayor's chair by now if oath-taking wasn't mandatory by law: Ishraque
"I haven't taken the position of mayor myself. According to the Local Government Act, I cannot perform the duties of mayor until I take the oath," says the BNP leader
BNP leader Ishraque Hossain has said he would have taken the Dhaka South City Corporation mayor's chair by now if oath-taking were not mandatory by law.
"I haven't taken the position of mayor myself. According to the Local Government Act, I cannot perform the duties of mayor until I take the oath. According to the law, an oath-taking ceremony must be held," he said at Dhaka South Nagar Bhaban today (17 June).
"Believe me, if oath-taking weren't required by law, I would have assumed the mayor's responsibilities by now," he added.
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Ishraque said, "We were on the streets with our demands, and our movement extended from the Nagar Bhaban to Jamuna. After two days of movement, we received a party decision that the matter would be resolved, and then we left the streets."
"We withdrew, considering the people's suffering. The government deceived us then, and it's still happening now," he added.
Ishraque said, "I will ask the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to review the activities of Adviser Asif [Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan] over these past few months."
"I will ask you to resolve this matter. The advisers are responsible for this standstill at the city building. The chief adviser cannot avoid this issue either. You (chief adviser) should resolve this matter," he added.
Since 14 May, Ishraque Hossain's supporters have been observing the sit-in programme by locking every gate of Nagar Bhaban. At the same time, they had announced that they will continue this movement until Ishraque is given the responsibility of mayor.
Ishraque also presented a written statement at the Nagar Bhaban today.
In the statement, he said, "In Electoral Tribunal case No 15/2020, regarding the Dhaka South City Corporation mayoral election, the tribunal cancelled the election results of 1 February 2020, and the gazette published on 4 February 2020, declaring Engineer Ishrak Hossain, the candidate with the 'sheaf of paddy' symbol, as mayor, and directed the Bangladesh Election Commission Secretariat to publish a gazette declaring Ishraque Hossain as mayor within 10 days."
"Following this directive, the Election Commission published a revised gazette on 27 April within 10 days, took necessary measures, and sent it to the Local Government Division," said Ishraque in the written statement.
"After receiving this revised gazette, the Local Government Division has nothing to do except organise the oath-taking ceremony. However, to delay the oath-taking ceremony, they have refrained from organising it by raising questions about whether the Election Commission will file an appeal against the tribunal's verdict, whether there's scope for correction in the Electoral Tribunal, etc, causing deliberate delays," he added.
In the statement, Ishraque said, "Yesterday, on 16 June, Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud said the oath couldn't be taken because the gazette's validity period expired while the oath-taking matter was under consideration. If his statement is true, then no elected representative will have the opportunity to take oath in the future."
"That is, after a gazette is published in the winner's name, any defeated candidate or any citizen, incited by someone like Asif Mahmud, will file a writ petition in the High Court Division to prevent oath-taking. And if that writ petition remains unresolved for 30 days, and the 30-day period mentioned in the gazette expires, no public representative will have the opportunity to take oath in the future," he added.
"Essentially, the local government adviser is trying to gain financial and political benefits by appointing an administrator of his choice for improper political and financial gains. In this case, Mr Shojib Bhuiyan has disrespected the people's mandate. He has shown contempt for the republic and misled the people with false information, which amounts to deception," Ishraque claimed in the written statement.
The controversy over Ishraque's mayoral oath stems from the 1 February 2020 Dhaka South election, where Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh of the Awami League was declared the winner amid allegations of irregularities.
Ishraque challenged the results in court, and on 27 March this year, Dhaka's First Joint District Judge and Election Tribunal declared Ishraque the mayor, nullifying the earlier result. The Election Commission published a gazette declaring Ishraque mayor 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.
On 29 May, the Appellate Division in an order said it is up to the Election Commission to decide whether Ishraque will be sworn in as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation.
