All elected mayors quit party posts

All elected mayors and most councillors of four city corporations finally resigned from their party posts and submitted detailed wealth statement in compliance with the City Corporation Ordinance, 2008.
Four newly elected mayors--Talukder Abdul Khaleque of Khulna City Corporation, Shawkat Hossain Hiron of Barisal, AHM Khairuzzaman Liton of Rajshahi and Badar Uddin Ahmad Kamran of Sylhet--sent their resignation letters to the Awami League (AL) acting President Zillur Rahman yesterday.
Sources, however, said they would go to court, after taking oath, to challenge the provision according to which the elected mayors and councillors have to resign from the party post before taking oath. They said political parties especially the AL would not accept the resignations.
The mayor elects, key AL leaders in their respective city corporations, earlier vowed to challenge the ordinance in court but they could not move due to time constraint, they added.
"Anybody may go to the court and challenge the ministry letter asking them to resign from their party posts," AL Presidium member Suranjit Sengupta told The Daily Star. He termed the government letter unlawful.
Asked whether the party would accept their resignation, the AL leader said the party might not. "We will go to court after they take oath," he said.
Mayors and councillors of the four city corporations resigned from the respective party posts before 5:00pm yesterday, the last day for resigning.
Asked why they retreated from their earlier stance to challenge the provision before taking oath, Hiron told The Daily Star that they would do what the party asks them to do. "As the party did not tell us to go to court, we did not go and if the party asks us to go to court in future we shall do so," he said.
Barisal City AL Convener Hiron sent a copy of his resignation letter to the divisional office director of the local government directorate yesterday, reports our Barisal correspondent.
In the wealth statement, Hiron mentioned that his yearly income is Tk 6.10 lakh and claimed to have movable and immovable assets worth Tk 18.8 lakh. He said he has Tk 2 crore bank loans in the name of his wife.
Mir Mojibur Rahman, Barisal director of the local government ministry, told The Daily Star that all 40 councillors-elect of Barisal City Corporation submitted similar resignation letters and affidavits.
Khaleque, president of Khulna city AL, said he sent his resignation letter to the central AL committee. Councillors belonging to AL, BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami also sent their resignations and affidavits, reports our Khulna correspondent.
Khaleque did not say whether he would file a writ petition with the High Court to hold his post. "I will abide by the decision of the central committee about this matter," he said.
Detained Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Kamran has seven days to resign after Kamran's wife Asma Kamran filed an application before the divisional commissioner requesting time. Asma told reporters the commissioner granted her request.
Liton along with elected councillors from AL yesterday sent copies of their resignation letters to the divisional commissioner. So far, 36 elected councillors out of 40 submitted their resignation papers, said Rajshahi City Corporation's Chief Executive Officer Korban Ali.