Jamaat seeks proof after DNCC chief’s auto-rickshaws remark

Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded verifiable evidence from Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Administrator Safiqul Islam Khan after he alleged that a political leader backing auto-rickshaw drivers’ demands owns 700 of the vehicles.

In a media statement, Jamaat said press reports suggested the administrator’s remarks were directed at its Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar, a former MP. It described the claim as “fictitious, false, baseless and fabricated.” Safiqul made the comment on Friday at a July-themed artwork programme on the metro rail pillars between Mirpur-12 and Agargaon.

He said the general secretary of a major political party had argued that the government should meet the demands of auto-rickshaw drivers. “That is a ridiculous statement,” he said. “An investigation later reportedly found that the leader owns 700 autorickshaws. People cannot keep getting away with it by changing their colours time and again.”

He did not name the leader in the remarks reported.
Jamaat said that “such a serious allegation against a top political leader requires specific, reliable evidence.” Commenting without presenting acceptable proof publicly, it said, “is not a mark of responsible conduct.”

The party said the issues surrounding the auto-rickshaw movement, traffic congestion, road discipline and drivers’ livelihoods must be weighed against reality and the public interest.

Any party’s position on them, it said, should be rebutted with logic, facts and practical steps, “not by levelling unproven allegations against a leader.”

Jamaat called on the administrator to present “specific, verifiable” evidence in public. Failing that, it demanded that he withdraw the remark and offer a public apology.

It remains unclear which investigation the administrator was referring to, or who carried it out. The DNCC had not publicly responded to Jamaat’s demand at the time of reporting.