‘I’ve always said I don’t want the mayor’s seat’

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has come to a standstill amid a political impasse between the Local Government Division and BNP leader Ishraque Hossain over the mayoral position.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Star on Thursday afternoon, Ishraque talked about some of the issues regarding the legality of the mayoral post, his stance over the matter, his current strife with the government, and the ongoing situation surrounding the Nagar Bhaban.

He claimed he never wanted the position of mayor, but rather wanted to expose the government's "wrongdoings" and "theatrics" surrounding the issue.

TDS: Who is responsible for the suspension of services at Nagar Bhaban?

Ishraque: After the court verdict, the Election Commission issued a gazette declaring me as mayor. There was no legal bar to administering my oath. Yet, the interim government ignored this. They disregarded both the constitution and the High Court ruling. This shows that the current government has lost its neutrality.

Seeing this injustice, the people of the city rose up. They took to the streets voluntarily. Officials and employees of DSCC joined the movement as well. But no one was asked to lock up Nagar Bhaban or halt services.

The Local Government Division deliberately instructed officials not to attend office. They secretly conspired to disrupt services and tarnish my image. The DSCC still has an administrator, and all other officials and staff remain — yet they are deliberately absent.

No one has ever been obstructed from performing their civic duties. The protesting citizens have remained peaceful. This won't last forever. Sitting in the mayor's chair was never my intention. My goal was to expose the government's wrongdoings.

This government has shown clear favouritism towards a particular party. Their conduct has proven how fair an election could be under their rule. The movement succeeded in highlighting this.

TDS: Before taking the oath, you held meetings with officials under banners declaring you as the mayor. Is that legal?

Ishraque: The banners were put up by others, not by me. The court verdict also supports this. Some individuals and media are criticising me, but they are not pointing out how the government ignored a court order.

TDS: Who locked the doors of Nagar Bhaban and its regional offices?

Ishraque: When it became clear that I wasn't being allowed to take my oath despite the court ruling, protesters eventually locked the offices out of frustration. I have since told the government to unlock them and resume services. Instead, they are increasing pressure to keep operations suspended.

TDS: What is your party BNP's stance on your current actions and movement?

Ishraque: If I were acting outside the party's decisions, they would have taken strict action by now—possibly even had me jailed.

One of the advisers claimed I committed a criminal offence. If that's true, why haven't they filed a case or arrested me?

TDS: Didn't you and your party boycott the 2020 city corporation election?

Ishraque: I never boycotted the election. Neither did my party. If we had boycotted, I wouldn't have sought legal recourse. The previous Awami League government illegally made Taposh (Fazle Noor Taposh) the mayor.

TDS: Who do you hold responsible for not administering your oath after the court ruling?

Ishraque: The local government adviser (Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain) didn't want me to assume the mayoral role. They installed someone in the North City Corporation as mayor under questionable circumstances. You should investigate whether that followed due process. They attempted to do the same here. I hold the adviser responsible. The matter was even discussed in the advisory council.

TDS: Will you return to court over the issue of not being allowed to take the oath?

Ishraque: BNP has a skilled panel of lawyers. We are discussing the issue. Discussions are also ongoing with the Consensus Commission. We'll see what comes out of that.

TDS: When will you return to Nagar Bhaban?

Ishraque: Legally, I haven't taken the oath as mayor yet. But to ensure services are not disrupted, I held three meetings to try to restore service operations. I urged the government to restart services. My visit to Nagar Bhaban was symbolic—to register a protest.

TDS: Even if the opportunity to take the oath is gone, why continue the movement?

Ishraque: The conspiracy to prevent me from becoming mayor was understood by both the citizens and DSCC officials. I never asked anyone to protest. But when I saw thousands of people braving the heat and rain for days on end, I went to express solidarity after about a week.

They had voted for me. DSCC officials also joined in solidarity. They were so outraged that they locked their offices. Now they are being threatened with termination.

If any official or staff member is punished, I won't let it go. I'll take to the streets if necessary. I have always said I don't desire the mayor's seat. But the government's theatrics to prevent me from taking that position need to be exposed. Now they're trying to hide their conspiracy by questioning why the word "mayor" is written next to my name.

TDS: Recently, you launched a mosquito control programme using public funds. Do you have the moral right to do this?

Ishraque: The ministry is failing to provide public services. Meanwhile, dengue cases are rising.

If I had used the medicine bought with public money for personal use, there would have been a legitimate question. Even so, if the government thinks I did something wrong by doing this, they are welcome to sue me. I will fight it legally.