Two high-profile sworn enemies in Narayanganj -- lawmaker Shamim Osman and the city’s Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy -- in separate press conferences on Wednesday blamed each other for instigating Tuesday's clash in the district’s Chashara area that left scores of people injured.
Meanwhile, the central committee of ruling Awami League summoned Shamim Osman and Ivy for a meeting, confirmed a central leader of the party. The leader, however, declined to specify the exact time and place of the meeting.
More than 100 people, including policemen and journalists, were injured in the clash between supporters of Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy and Awami League MP Shamim Osman at Chashara over the city corporations’ decision to evict hawkers from the city’s footpaths.
The mayor also sustained minor injuries during the clash. Police had fired around 200 rounds of blanks and teargas shells to disperse the fighting groups and bring the situation under control.
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Ivy to take legal action against Shamim
“Yesterday’s [Tuesday] assault was an attempt to assassinate me. My family members- brother, nephew and others-- were targeted in the attack. I will take legal actions against this heinous act,” said Ivy, during a briefing at her office in the city’s Nagar Bhaban.
“We had discussed the issue of hawkers’ eviction at length with the district administration, and local MP. We made alternative plans to rehabilitate and relocate them [the hawkers]. In the meantime, Shamim Osman intervened into the matter to escalate the situation.”
More than 100 people including policemen and journalists have been injured in a clash between supporters of Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy and Awami League MP Shamim Osman at Chashara, Narayanganj on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 Dhaka TribuneDemanding the incumbent deputy commissioner and superintendent of police’s withdrawal from the district, Ivy claimed that Shamim Osman and his supporters were able to create a mess because of the duo’s inactivity.
“Where was the police when the Shamim Osman’s goons were throwing brick chips at us? The district administration did not even warn us that such an incident could take place,” she asked.
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Shamim blames Ivy for not taking hawkers’ rehabilitation into account
“Tuesday’s incident was between Selina Hayat Ivy and hawkers, not between Ivy and me,” Osman said at a press conference in the city’s Rifles Club.
He said: “My party’s [Awami League] General Secretary Obaidul Quader asked me to go to the spot and that is why I went there. If I was not there, many of my supporters would not even remain alive today. Not a single brick chip was thrown towards them after I arrived on the spot.
“The prime minister herself said the hawkers should be rehabilitated first and then told to move. Then why in Narayanganj are the hawkers being evicted first?” the controversial lawmakers asked.
Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy at the Narayanganj Press Club after the clashes between her and MP Shamim Osman's supporters at Chashara on January 16, 2018 Dhaka TribuneObaidul Quader warns of organizational action against people behind clash
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Wednesday warned of taking organizational action against those who were behind the clash in Narayanganj, reports UNB.
“I have talked to the prime minister in this regard. She (prime minister) said organizational steps would be taken against those who were involved in the incident,” said Quader while addressing a press conference at Awami League president's political office in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi.
Quader said he has urged the home minister to investigate the incident and take legal action against the agitators, if they used firearms during the incident.
MP Shamim Osman uses a megaphone to address his supporters, hawkers and journalists on the Bangabandhu Road after the clash on January 16, 2018 Dhaka TribuneLGRD minister: Personal rivalry triggered the clash
Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain on Wednesday said personal rivalry between Shamim Osman and Selina Hayat Ivy had triggered the clashes, reports UNB.
About the eviction drive in Narayanganj, the minister said: "(The person) who launched the eviction drive is an elected mayor while who opposed it is also an elected public representative. But you can never reach a solution by flexing muscle, can you? Why will hawkers occupy the footpaths?"
"If a mayor orders an eviction drive, it is legal, while the rehabilitation of hawkers should also be taken into account. I can’t comment further as I’m yet to get a full picture of the situation there,” he said while talking to reporters outside his secretariat office.
“But I am certain that the conflict is entirely personal," he said.
Parts of the article was first published on banglatribune.com
