BNP leader Ishraque Hossain has said that Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain has lost the moral right to remain in the position of local government adviser due to presenting false and misleading information in the media.
"He has violated his oath and for that, we are demanding his resignation," Ishraque said.
He made these comments on Tuesday, while attending a sit-in program at Nagar Bhaban, organized to press for the official handover of responsibilities to Ishraque Hossain as the Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
Ishraque Hossain said that the electoral tribunal had annulled the results of the DSCC mayoral election held on February 1, 2020, and subsequently invalidated the gazette published on February 4.
The tribunal declared him the elected mayor and directed the Election Commission Secretariat to publish a revised gazette within 10 days.
Following this directive, the Election Commission published the amended gazette on April 27 and forwarded it to the Local Government Division for necessary action.
He said that upon receiving the revised gazette, the only responsibility of the Local Government Division was to arrange the oath-taking ceremony.
However, they are delaying the process by raising questions such as whether the Election Commission will file an appeal against the tribunal's verdict or whether there is any scope to amend the petition in the tribunal, which are merely tactics to postpone the swearing-in.
The BNP leader further said that on Monday, Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud claimed that the oath could not be administered as the validity of the gazette had expired while the matter was still under consideration.
Ishraque said that if the adviser's claim is considered valid, it would establish a problematic precedent in which a defeated candidate could obstruct the swearing-in of a duly elected representative by filing a writ petition in the High Court Division.
He added: "If the petition remains pending beyond the gazette's 30-day validity, the elected individual would ultimately be denied the right to assume office."
He further alleged that the Local Government adviser is trying to gain financial and political advantage by appointing a preferred person as administrator, which shows disregard for the people's mandate, spreads false information and weakens democracy, resulting to deception.
Ishraque added that the adviser also claimed that the people of DSCC have long been deprived of civic services.
“We firmly believe that due to his youth and inexperience, he is unaware of the nature of services provided by various departments of the city corporation,” he said.
Concluding his comments, Ishraque said: “The adviser is quite young and has a long way ahead. Therefore, respectful conduct towards the public and upholding the court’s verdict are expected of him. Misleading the people with falsehoods is not his responsibility. The citizens who have endured such repression and oppression without deviating from their cause cannot be misled.”
