The nomination paper of Jahangir Alam, who was denied a ticket from the ruling Awami League for the post of mayor in the upcoming Gazipur City Corporation elections, was rejected on Sunday. The returning officer announced the decision saying that Jahangir Alam is a loan defaulter.
Terming the decision as biased, the former mayor of Gazipur city said the decision was an injustice to him. Jahangir Alam further said he will appeal against the decision.
The verification of nomination papers was held at the office of the returning officer, set up at Bongotaj Auditorium in Gazipur town in presence of Jahangir Alam on Sunday morning. Later, returning officer Faridul Islam announced the decision to cancel the nomination papers of three mayoral candidates including Jahangir Alam. The nomination papers of nine other candidates including Jahangir Alam’s mother Jayeda Khatun were declared valid.
Addressing the returning officer, Jahangir Alam said, “I have been treated unjustly. There had been discrimination. The bank authorities verbally and in writing said they received the deposit of the loan installment. Despite this, what you have done? This is biased," said Jahangir Alam.
Speaking to newspersons, Jahangir Alam said, “The election commission has deviated from the neutral position it had. I don’t know under whose pressure they buckled and deviated from that position. But I want justice. I’ll appeal against this decision. I’ll go to the Supreme Court, if necessary. I’ll fight till the end. I want to know from the people of the country, whether I would get justice as a person and as a candidate or not?”
The loan
Returning officer's office sources said a Korean company named New Town City Wear took loans of Tk 1 billion from Agrani Bank Limited. Jahangir was the guarantor of that loan.
CIB (Credit Information Bureau) of Bangladesh Bank provided information on that loan ahead of the election. That loan was shown defaulted. Afterwards, the returning officer cancelled the nomination.
Drawing the attention of the returning officer about the loan, Jahangir Alam said there is a composite factory at Konabari area of Gazipur. The factory is owned by Koreans.
Once there was labour unrest in the company and the owners were unable to pay the workers. He has no share in the factory. He does not get any profit. On humanitarian grounds, he used his own assets to protect thousands of workers.
Mortgaging his assets with the bank and taking a loan, the Korean owners kept the factory running. He is merely a guarantor of the loan. The Koreans could not pay the installments in time due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Jahangir Alam said, "The Koreans paid the dues of Bangladesh Bank and Agrani Bank on 11 and 18 April after I became a candidate. The Korean company paid the dues of Agrani Bank on 17 April. Those documents have been submitted through a lawyer and the bank authorities."
On behalf of Jahangir Alam, a lawyer was present at the returning officer's office.
Presenting arguments against the cancellation of nomination, he drew attention of the returning officer and said the guarantor never becomes a loan defaulter as per the law. In this regard there is a verdict of the Appellate Division. Moreover, as the bank has already got the payment and the bank authorities did not make any objection, he is not a loan defaulter.
Returning officer Faridul Islam said as per Bangladesh Bank report, Jahangir Alam is a loan defaulter. However, Jahangir Alam claimed he paid the loan and submitted the documents. But it did not seem that the bank had received these and so his nomination has been cancelled. There is scope to file an appeal with the election commission. So he has been advised to make an appeal.
Faridul Islam said 12 aspirants submitted nomination papers for mayoral posts. Of them, nominations of three aspirants have been cancelled. Nomination paper of Oliur Rahman has been cancelled as he didn't submit nomination papers signed by 300 supporters. Nomination of independent candidate Abul Hossain has been cancelled as he did not submit necessary documents.
After verification, the returning officer declared nominations of Awami League candidate Azmat Ullah Khan, Jatiya Party candidate MM Niaz Uddin, Gonofront's Atiqul Islam, Islami Andolon Bangladesh's Ataur Rahman, independent candidates Abdullah Al Mamun Mandol, Harun Or Rashid, Sarker Shahanur Islam and Zaeda Khatun and Zaker Party's Razu Ahmed valid.
Temporarily suspended mayor of Gazipur City Corporation Jahangir Alam sought nomination from the ruling Awami League. However, the party nominated city Awami League president Azmat Ullah Khan.
After finalisation of nomination, there was a discussion that Jahangir Alam may be an independent candidate. Being deprived of nomination from the party, Jahangir Alam collected nomination papers on Wednesday.
On behalf of him, his representatives collected the nomination paper from the returning officer. The nomination paper was also collected in the name of Jahangir's mother Zaeda Khatun.
Jahangir Alam submitted the nomination paper at the returning officer's office on Thursday. Later, he told the newsmen that he is contesting the election not against the Awami League's electoral symbol 'Boat' but against the person.