An appeal petition was filed with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday challenging a High Court order that rejected a writ petition filed for the deferment of the polls to the two city corporations of Dhaka, billed for January 30.
Supreme Court (SC) lawyer Ashoke Kumar Ghosh filed the petition seeking the apex court's directive to announce a new date for holding the polls as the scheduled date coincides with Saraswati Puja.
Mr Ashoke said the petition would likely be heard by the chamber judge of the Appellate Division on Sunday.
The main part of Saraswati Puja will be held on January 30, added the lawyer.
Earlier on January 6, 2020, Advocate Ashoke Kumar Ghosh filed the writ petition with the High Court seeking its order to bring change in the election date.
After hearing the petition, the HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam on January 14 rejected it.
Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda on December 22, 2019 announced the schedule for the elections to Dhaka north city corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka south city corporation (DSCC) to be held on January 30, 2020.
Meanwhile, four major mayoral candidates, nominated by Awami League and BNP, have already urged the Election Commission to defer the polls.
Our DU correspondent reports: A group of students of Dhaka University (DU) on Thursday staged a hunger strike unto death demanding change in the schedule of the elections to the Dhaka north and south city corporations due to Saraswati Puja that fails on the same day-January 30.
About fifty students sat on the strike in front of Raju Sculpture of the campus in the afternoon where they announced to continue their programme until the polls date is deferred.
Utpal Biswas, vice president of Jagannath Hall Union and also general secretary of the hall unit of Chhatra League, who was demonstrating there, said, "We will continue our strike until our demand is met."
On the same day, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) also held an agitation programme on the DU campus for the same demand.
Around one hundred leaders and activists of JCD gathered at Madhur Canteen and brought out a procession.
After parading several streets of the campus, the procession terminated in front of Raju Sculpture where they held a protest rally.
JCD central president Fazlur Rahman Khokon and its general secretary Iqbal Hossain Shaymol, DU unit convener Rakibul Islam Rakib and its member secretary Aman Ullan Aman were present at the rally.
Fazlul Rahman Khokon said, "Not only our Hindu religion brothers, but all of us demand change in the schedule of the elections."
On Tuesday, the High Court rejected a writ petition filed for changing the date of the city corporation elections and hours later on the day and on Wednesday, DU students blocked Shahbagh intersection demanding deferment of the elections.
Earlier, Bangladesh Chhatra Oikya Parishad, a platform of students of different religions, and another platform of students and teachers of DU under the banner 'Conscious Students-Teachers' staged demonstrations on Sunday and Monday respectively.
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