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Shamim-Ivy television talk-show goes viral

Sunday, 17 August 2014


A video of Narayanganj MP Shamim Osman and City Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy at each other’s throats has gone viral on the internet including the social media. On Aug 12, a nightly television talk-show on Ekattor TV turned into a battleground when Osman came face-to-face with Ivy, according to a news agency. The two came there after facing the administrative investigation committee which is looking into the sensational Narayanganj seven murders. Their furious spat on-air gave birth to much controversy.
Now a video apparently leaked to the internet has brought to light the remainder of their wrangling on the set, which the channel had not aired. A google ID called 'shocheton nagorik' uploaded the video around Saturday midnight. It was the only video on that user's channel. The video opened with Ivy making heated comments. She challenged Shamim to "come to Narayanganj", and Shamim replied in kind. They were both using the informal pronoun (tui) to address each other. They had done so on the air as well, although not as frequently. Ekattor TV staff rushed into the set to try to calm the situation. Special Correspondent Farzana Rupa was seen trying to calm Ivy. She told her, "I'm also responsible for this. Please calm down." The two politicians accused each other of corruption, and the spat continued. Shamim made remarks about Ivy's character and "bad background", further infuriating Ivy. She then directed her anger towards the talk show host Shakil Ahmed. Ekattor TV CEO Samia Zaman entered the set at this point, trying to calm things down. After another comment by Shamim, Ivy got up and began taking off her microphone.
The host, the other guest Golam Mortaza and Samia Zaman began requesting Ivy to stay. While standing, Ivy continued to level threats at Shamim, saying he could not talk like this "no matter how close he is to Sheikh Hasina". The duo continued to level insults at each other, with Shakil Ahmed trying to calm them. After a while the show went on air again and they resumed discussions. After this about a minute of the video went on with a static image as Shamim and Ivy quarrelled in the background.
Near the end of the video the camera was turned on again. It was apparent that the show had ended, with bodies blocking most of the view. Shamim and Ivy were still at it for some time. After the show, Golam Mortaza wrote on Facebook that Shamim had moved to attack Ivy physically as she was leaving after the show. "The way he attacked me during the breaks, anybody would be frightened," he claimed.