‘Jamaat secretary general owns 700 auto-rickshaws’: Jamaat seeks evidence from DNCC administrator

Referring to Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan has said an investigation reportedly found that the leader owns 700 auto-rickshaws.

Calling the statement fictional and baseless, Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded evidence to substantiate the claim. If he fails to provide evidence, the party has demanded that the DNCC administrator withdraw his statement and publicly apologise.

Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami’s central publicity and media department, sent a statement to the media on Friday afternoon protesting the DNCC administrator’s remarks about the party’s secretary general.

The statement titled “Strong condemnation and protest against the DNCC administrator’s irresponsible and baseless statement” said, “We have taken note of a statement made by Dhaka North City Corporation Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan Milton that the secretary general of a political party owns 700 auto-rickshaws. News published in various media outlets on Friday suggests that his remarks referred to Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar. We strongly condemn and protest the dissemination of such fictional, untrue, baseless and fabricated information.”

Earlier in the morning, speaking at the inauguration of the DNCC’s “July Graffiti Remake” programme at the Mirpur-10 roundabout, Shafiqul Islam Khan said political leaders and activists from various parties had been seen participating in the auto-rickshaw movement that day in the name of a protest.

He said there is not a single person in Bangladesh who would take part in a movement in favour of auto-rickshaws. ... The secretary general of a major political party said the government should accept the demands of auto-rickshaw drivers. That is a ridiculous statement. An investigation later reportedly found that the leader owns 700 auto-rickshaws.

The DNCC administrator also remarked that people would not be able to repeatedly change their stance and get away with it.

Criticising Shafiqul Islam’s remarks, Jamaat leader Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said in the statement that the public expected responsible, fact-based and decent remarks from the DNCC administrator. Before making a serious allegation that a top political leader personally owns 700 auto-rickshaws, it is essential to present specific and reliable evidence, he said.

Making such remarks without publicly presenting credible evidence to support them was not an example of responsible conduct, he added.

The statement said issues related to auto-rickshaw operations, traffic congestion, road discipline and drivers’ livelihoods should be considered in light of reality and the public interest.

Any political party’s statements or positions on these issues should be countered with arguments, facts and practical measures, rather than by making unsubstantiated allegations against a leader, it added.

Calling on the DNCC administrator to publicly present specific and verifiable evidence to support his statement, the statement said, “If he fails to present evidence, we demand that he withdraw his statement and publicly apologise.”

Earlier, on 5 October, Mia Golam Porwar was asked by journalists about the issue after a preparatory meeting of the liaison committee of the 11-party alliance for a long march from Dhaka towards Khulna and Kushtia.

In reply, Mia Golam Porwar said, “I believe the government should accept the demands of auto-rickshaw drivers. None of us should create a situation that leads to instability in the country or gives anyone an opportunity to provoke people.”

The DNCC administrator, Shafiqul Islam Khan, did not mention anyone by name in his remarks. However, for the past several days, several people have claimed on various television talk shows that Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar owns 700 auto-rickshaws.