RCC okays pro-AL acting mayor

With Mayor Mosaddek Hosssain Bulbul suspended, Rajshahi City Corporation accepted Awami League-backed councillor Nizam-ul Azim as acting mayor at a general meeting yesterday where mostly pro-BNP councillors endorsed the decision.

But allegations were rife that former mayor and AL leader Khairuzzaman Liton earned the support of BNP-backed councillors, mostly facing criminal cases, to have Azim accepted as acting mayor, assuring the councillors that they would not be harassed by police.

In this regard, Liton held a "secret" meeting with the councillors at his Upashahar residence on Saturday night, said sources of BNP and AL.

But Liton told The Daily Star, "I didn't ask them to give support in the meeting. They came to me after taking the decision themselves for providing support and sought my assistance in different development projects.”

Azim, a cousin of Liton's wife, was appointed acting mayor as per an executive order, dated June 1, by the LGRD ministry, but the order required endorsement at a general meeting of the city corporation, said an RCC employee.

Out of the total 40 councillors of RCC, 26 are BNP-backed.

At yesterday's meeting, 32 councillors were present with more than a dozen pro-BNP councillors supporting the order.But two pro-AL councillors -- Mohammad Kamruzzaman and Abdul Hamid Sarker -- dissented while the rest remained silent. Hamid Sarker told The Daily Star that the government order was unlawful because in the absence of the mayor, one of the three elected panel mayors should take over.

One panel mayor is in jail, and another did not attend the meeting.The other panel mayor, Nuruzzaman Tito, who was present at the meeting and also endorsed the order, said, “What else can I do? If I want my right to be the acting mayor, police will chase me. Now I attended the general meeting and police did not touch me.”

Most of the BNP-backed councillors, who met Liton on Saturday night, are being searched by police in different criminal cases, said Iftekhair Alam, assistant commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police. “We were not aware of the meeting,” he said.

Sohrab Hossain Sheikh, pro-BNP councillor, said BNP-backed councillors sought Liton's blessings in the meeting so that police did not harass them in criminal cases.

He, however, declined to comment on their support to the government order. “We needed to decide, as the people are suffering in absence of the mayor,” he said.

Pro-BNP Mayor Bulbul was suspended on May 7 for facing charges of murder and other crimes.