‘What is the point of the 120,000 voters in Gazipur if a mayor can be expelled from their post based on mere instructions’
Former Gazipur City Corporation mayor Jahangir Alam said he was removed from his post based on orders issued by higher authorities.
“I was unjustly ousted from my position as mayor and expelled from my party by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives solely based on inaccurate, and baseless information provided by an individual who is not even from the district,” the ex-mayor claimed on Facebook Live on Monday night.
He noted that they took these actions without receiving any formal complaint against him.
“When I contacted the honorable minister, he said that I have been expelled over the instructions from higher authorities. I asked what was my fault. What was my crime? The minister said you have no crime, no fault. I expelled you because of the instructions.”
In this regard, Alam asked what is the point of the 120,000 voters in Gazipur if a mayor can be expelled from their post based on mere instructions.
“Before I was elected as the mayor of the Gazipur City Corporation, there was no 40-feet or 20-feet road anywhere in this city. All city corporation premises are privately owned properties. My mother suggested that since I was the mayor of Gazipur, I should something for the people,” Alam said.
“With my mother’s advice, strength, courage, and prayers, I did the things the honorable leader (prime minister) told me,” he said in the video.
He added that in the first phase of his tenure, he constructed an 800km road, and two of the projects cost Tk700 crore and Tk1,500 crore.
“Today, the opponents who are seeking votes are lying that I extorted Tk7,500 crore,” he claimed.
“When I served as the upazila vice chairman, acting chairman, and the mayor of the city corporation for three years, I never misappropriated a single taka from the state funds, government resources, taxpayers’ money, allowances, my salary, or the mayor’s expenses. However, I was unjustly subjected to emotional, and social belittlement based on false information,” the expelled mayor said.
Additionally, he mentioned that there are still instructions restricting the promotion of both his and his mother’s candidacies in the GCC polls through newspapers and TV channels.
“I always say I am not against the government, the Election Commission or my party. I always open my mouth against one single person. Because he wanted to kill me. During his 18-year tenure in Tongi, the man could not plant a single tree or construct a drainage system. Someone who could not even fulfill the basic needs of the municipality over such a long period of time now tells stories about Gazipur City Corporation,” Jahangir Alam added.
He concluded by asking voters not to listen to rumours and vote for his mother, Zayeda Khatun.
“Me and my mother together will give you a beautiful city. I promise to work with my mother as your child. Best wishes to all,” he said.
On May 15, the Awami League Central Executive Committee has expelled suspended Gazipur City Corporation mayor Jahangir Alam from the party for disobeying the party’s decision yet again.
Earlier, central leaders of the Awami League recommended the permanent and lifetime expulsion of the former mayor from the party.
Jahangir Alam recently defied the party directive and sought to run independently in the Gazipur City Corporation election against the party’s candidate, Advocate Azmat Ullah Khan.
The Election Commission later nullified his candidacy because he was a loan defaulter.
However, Jahangir also submitted another mayoral candidacy for his mother and is now campaigning for her in the mayoral race, opposing the Awami League’s mayoral candidate Azmat Ullah Khan.