Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Ishraque Hossain on Tuesday announced that the ongoing protest at the Dhaka South City Corporation headquarters, Nagar Bhaban, was ‘relaxed’, but did not clarify whether the DSCC headquarters and other zonal offices would reopen from Wednesday.
Addressing the protest at Nagar Bhaban, Ishraque said that the sit-in programme had been temporarily relaxed to ensure services for city residents during Eid-ul-Azha, scheduled for June 7, and to ease public suffering. Â
Warning the government, he said, ‘If you do not arrange the swearing-in ceremony immediately, I will take the oath myself, taking the voters of South Dhaka along with me … No outsider—be it an adviser or administrator like in the Dhaka North City Corporation—will be allowed to run the DSCC.’
His announcement, however, created confusion even among the protesters about whether Nagar Bhaban would reopen on Wednesday.
Mokbul Islam Tipu, former BNP-backed councillor of the DSCC Ward 40, said, ‘Ishraque did not clear about the lockdown. It will be known on Wednesday.’
The protesters, who started sit-in at the Nagar Bhaban at about 10:00am, alleged that it was evident that the interim government had lack of neutrality as Ishraque’s swering-in was yet to hold despite court’s order. Â
Since May 15, Ishraque’s supporters, mostly members of several DSCC workers’ unions, for the 16th consecutive day on Tuesday kept halted operations at the Nagar Bhaban, and the corporation’s zonal offices, demanding his swearing-in as the city mayor.
The suspension of essential public services—including holding tax collection, and the issuance of death and birth certificates and trade licences—has plunged thousands of citizens into distress, with many fearing that it may also disrupt cattle waste disposal during Eid.
DSCC chief waste management officer Md Mahabubur Rahman Talukder, however, said, ‘All preparations for waste disposal have been completed, and three committees have been formed to monitor cattle-related waste disposal, so no problems are expected in this regard.’
On May 29, the Appellate Division refused to intervene in the DSCC mayoral dispute and left the matter to the Election Commission, reaffirming that the commission must discharge its constitutional responsibilities independently and in accordance with the law.
A seven-member bench led by chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed made the observation while disposing of a leave-to-appeal petition filed by lawyer Mamunur Rashid, who challenged the legality of the EC’s April 27 gazette that declared Ishraque DSCC mayor, replacing ousted Awami League-backed mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh based on a March 27 tribunal verdict.
On the same day, chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin told reporters that the Election Commission would proceed to take its next step in this regard after examining the related law and the court’s decision.
Ishraque’s long-standing challenge to the 2020 DSCC mayoral election results gained traction after the fall of the authoritarian AL regime on August 5, 2024, in a mass uprising. All mayoral posts in the country were vacated on August 19, 2024.Â
