Ishraque suspends demos after HC order in his favour
BNP leader Ishraque Hossain yesterday suspended the demonstrations for his immediate swearing-in as Dhaka south mayor and said they would would observe the government's actions over the next two days before deciding on the next course of action.
He made the announcement while speaking to his supporters near the Kakrail Mosque at 4:15pm.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Just a few hours back, he had urged his supporters to remain on the streets despite a High Court order that rejected a writ petition challenging the Election Commission's decision to declare him DSCC mayor.
Ishraque also apologised for the public inconvenience and disruptions to civic services due to the eight-day long protests by his supporters.
Following his announcement, protesters vacated the area by 5:00pm.
His supporters began a sit-in at 10:00am, blocking the road from the Nagar Bhaban to Kakrail via High Court area and Matsya Bhaban. This led to massive gridlocks in the surrounding areas.
The protests also disrupted access to State Guest House Jamuna -- the chief adviser's official residence -- with law enforcement deployed in the area to prevent BNP supporters from approaching the premises.
Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, in a virtual message from Bangkok, described the HC order as the "people's victory", calling it a win for both democracy and justice.
"Undoubtedly, this is another victory for democracy. We know that during the mayoral election, the fascist Awami League government forcibly snatched the results … The public has declared Ishraque as the 'people's mayor'."
He urged the local government ministry to take immediate steps to facilitate Ishraque's oath-taking.
The HC bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury passed the order in the morning after concluding the hearing on the petition that sought a stay on the EC's decision to declare Ishraque mayor.
Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, who argued on Ishraque's behalf in court, told reporters that there is no legal bar preventing the authorities concerned from administering the oath to Ishraque as the DSCC mayor following the HC order.
"If they [the government] don't administer him the oath, a contempt-of-court proceeding will be initiated against them," he said.
Meanwhile, the writ petitioner's lawyer, Mohammad Hossain Lipu, told The Daily Star, "Our client has instructed us to move a petition before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on the High Court order. We will move the petition this afternoon or on Sunday."
On March 27 this year, Dhaka's First Joint District Judge and Election Tribunal Judge Md Nurul Islam overturned the 2020 DSCC election result, declared Ishraque the winner, and ordered the Election Commission to issue a gazette within 10 days.
On April 27, the EC issued the notification declaring Ishraque the DSCC mayor.
On May 14, DSCC resident Mamunur Rashid filed the writ petition with the HC, challenging the tribunal's verdict and the EC's gazette.
Just after the HC passed the order rejecting the petition yesterday, Ishraque, in a Facebook post, urged protesters not to leave the streets and to intensify their movement.
"To my fellow protesters, I say -- you can tame donkeys with radish, but not us. The fight continues until we hear the news of the resignation of the two student representative advisers. Don't leave the streets -- rather, intensify the movement further," he wrote.
After joining the protests in Kakrail and announcing the suspension of the demonstrations, he reiterated that they would continue to press for the resignation of the two advisers.
Meanwhile, all public services in the DSCC remained suspended yesterday as well, DSCC Administrator Md Shahjahan Miah confirmed to The Daily Star. He said if they can resume work on Saturday, they would focus on Eid-related activities.
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