Frazzled nerves over Latif Siddique remarks

Telecoms Minister Abdul Latif Siddique is the staple of every discussion after some shocking remarks he made at an event in New York.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 30 Sept 2014, 08:18 PM
Updated : 1 Oct 2014, 07:33 AM

At one stage of the raging discussions on Tuesday, a rumour spread that the ruling Awami League leader had been fired, but it could not be confirmed.

Even ally Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad has called for action against this Awami League leader. The BNP has called for his dismissal and so have several Islamic parties. Hifazat-e Islam has called for his death.

Minister Obaidul Quader has said decisions will be taken about his colleague after the prime minister returns from her foreign trip.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is in the UK after attending the UN General Assembly in New York. She is scheduled to return home on Oct 2.

In the afternoon news spread that he had been fired. Several news outlets ran the story.

bdnews24.com contacted persons at several levels of the government but the news could not be confirmed. Some said they had ‘heard’ it, but could not be certain.

The outlets that ran the story later withdrew it.

The senior leader’s plight began after some comments at an event in New York about Hajj and Tablig Jamaat.

The telecom and ICT minister said there that he was strongly against both of them, and also Jamaat-e-Islami.

As a video clip of him talking spread over the internet kicking up a storm. The Hajj remark in particular touched some raw nerves.

“So much manpower is wasted over Hajj. Two million people are now in Saudi Arabia for Hajj. They have no work or role in production. They only eat and go abroad using the country’s money,” Siddique was heard saying in the video.
He also reacted strongly to a question about prime minister’s son and ICT Adviser Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed Joy. “Why do you talk about Joy all the time? Who is 'Joy Bhai'?
"Joy is not in the Bangladesh government. He does not take decisions."
After the social media reacted, political parties began to issue reactions as well.
In a statement, BNP spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “The top tier of the government has always encouraged his relentless repulsive statements. That is why he has crossed all limits and slandered the sacred Hajj and the prophet.”
Hifazat-e Islam called for his hanging, and threatened to throw the nation into anarchy if he was not sacked within 24 hours.
Jamaat-e-Islami had a relatively low-key reaction, asking Siddique to apologise.
Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat, which is an ideological opponent of Hifazat, has also called for his dismissal.
Awami League leaders did not speak out against their colleague, although those who were asked termed his comments unacceptable.
In reply to queries, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said, “It is wrong for someone occupying high-level government position to say or do something that tarnishes the government’s image.”
“The prime minister is aware of this. We will take a decision on this after she returns.”
The 71-year old Siddique and his younger brother Kader Siddiqui are among the most senior politicians in Tangail.
He is known as an outspoken politician, and his snide remarks have brought him much controversy over the years.
He did not even spare his brother for “
”, saying the war hero was suddenly trying to become a razakar.
He was once accused of beating up a
.
In Awami League’s last term Siddique was in charge of the textiles and jute ministry.
He had opposed Sheikh Hasina becoming the Awami League president in the 1980s while she was abroad. Again he was a strong voice in her support during the 1/11 military-backed regime.
He was a favourite of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, an active participant in the six-point movement in 1966 and the mass uprising of 1969, frequently jailed throughout that decade and an organiser during the Liberation War.
In 1964-65, he was elected the vice president of Karatia Sadat College students union as a Chhatra League leader.
After Bangabandhu’s murder, he was in jail for six years under the military regime. He was freed after his wife became an MP of the Ershad government.
During his term as textile minister, he wrote a letter to US Ambassador
tersely objecting to his asking managements to allow trade union rights in readymade garment factories.
In an interview given to BBC Bangla from Mexico, Siddique stood by his remarks.
“I made the comments on Hajj as a free and modern man.”
He told the BBC resigning because of pressure was out of question.
“I will do nothing. I will carry out the order that the prime minister gives me,” he said.