A large group of supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Ishraque Hossain on Monday blocked the road in front of Nagar Bhaban, the headquarters of Dhaka South City Corporation, and a portion of the Gulistan crossing, demanding Ishraque鈥檚 swearing-in as the DSCC mayor.
The protesters also kept the Nagar Bhaban鈥檚 gates locked for four working days on Monday, causing sufferings to service seekers as the administrative activities of Dhaka South City Corporation have remained stalled since May 15 amid the protests by Ishraque鈥檚 supporters.
Mokbul Islam Tipu, former DSCC ward-40 councillor and a leader of the protesters, said that the Gulistan crossing would be blocked and the Nagar Bhaban鈥檚 gates would remain locked also today from 10:00am to 5:00pm.
He said that the protest would continue until their demand was met.
In his verified Facebook page, Ishraque on Monday wrote, 鈥楾he issue is nothing about the mayor. Its main purpose is to expose the truth about greed for power of some individuals in the interim government and their desire to make it permanent.鈥櫬�
鈥楾hese people鈥檚 faces need to be revealed for the sake of democracy and the people鈥檚 right to vote. They are making every effort to bar the BNP鈥檚 mayor (from taking office) in Dhaka, which reveals what role they would play in the forthcoming election,鈥� the post read, adding that those who abandoned neutrality and worked for a particular party should resign immediately.
Meanwhile, the High Court is scheduled to hear today a writ petition challenging the legality of a government gazette that declared Ishraque DSCC mayor based on a lower court鈥檚 verdict.
The bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury set the hearing date following an appeal by lawyer Mohammad Hossain who sought an urgent hearing of the petition filed past week by Md Mamunur Rashid, a resident of the Dhaka South.
The petitioner has sought a stay on both the Election Tribunal鈥檚 March 27 verdict delivered by Judge Md Nurul Islam, also joint district judge of Dhaka First Court, and the April 27 gazette notification issued by the Election Commission declaring Ishraque mayor.
In its verdict, the Election Tribunal declared Ishraque mayor of the DSCC and directed the Election Commission secretary to publish the gazette notification within 10 days.
Mamunur, in his petition, also requested the High Court to issue a rule asking the government and the Election Commission to explain why they should not be restrained from administering the oath of office to Ishraque.
He further asked the court to explain why the tribunal judge should not face disciplinary action for allegedly passing a 鈥榝raudulent鈥� judgment without proper recount or ballot verification.
Lawyer Mohammad Hossain told 抖阴精品 that the tribunal unlawfully declared Ishraque mayor without counting the ballots of the February 1, 2020 DSCC mayoral election. He said that such a declaration violated electoral procedures and legal norms.
He also stated that the Election Commission acted prematurely by issuing the gazette, especially when it had already sought legal opinion from the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs regarding the dispute 鈥� a response that remains pending.
In a Facebook post on Monday, local government, rural development and cooperatives adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain wrote that swearing-in was not possible until the pending issues in the High Court were resolved.
鈥楾he BNP is carrying out this movement by shutting down Nagar Bhaban with the intention of achieving their demands through muscle power without following proper procedures, resulting in the disruption of the City Corporation鈥檚 daily activities and causing public sufferings,鈥� the post read.
The protesters blocked the roads from Gulistan Golap Shah Mazar to the Police headquarters and Nagar Bhaban to Zero Point for about six hours starting about 11:00am on Monday, causing heavy traffic congestion in the surrounding areas and suffering for city dwellers.
During the blockade, the protesters brought out small processions at intervals and held musical performances in front of the main gate of Nagar Bhaban.
On Sunday, DSCC chief executive officer Md Zillur Rahman said that services in all their 10 zonal offices remained stalled due to the protests.
The protesters on Saturday declared adviser Asif Mahmud persona non grata in Nagar Bhaban for the delay in Ishraque鈥檚 swearing-in, saying that they believed Asif had been creating obstacles to the swearing-in despite the court鈥檚 verdict and the Election Commission鈥檚 gazette.
The protests started on May 14 under the banners of Dhakabashi, Dhaka South City Corporation Sramik Karmachari Union (associated with Jatiyatabadi Shramik Dal, the labour organisation backed by the BNP), and Biddut Karmachari Samajkallayan Samity.
