Awami League severs all ties with Latif Siddique

It is the end of the road for Abdul Latif Siddique in Awami League.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 24 Oct 2014, 03:34 PM
Updated : 24 Oct 2014, 06:08 PM

On Friday, the ruling party’s Central Working Committee decided to cancel his primary membership and expel him for his tirade against Hajj.

The former telecoms minister is currently in India, but it is not clear why.

Sources close to the Siddique family says Latif Siddique is not feeling safe to return to Bangladesh.

In his first reaction from India, the former minister had regretted the embarrassment his remarks caused to the party and government. But, he maintained he had said what he said about the Hajj as a free citizen of a democratic and secular country.

On Oct 12, the government dropped Latif Siddique from the Cabinet and made it clear that he would not henceforth hold any position in government.

Hours later that day, Awami League tossed Siddique out of its policymaking Presidium and also temporarily suspended his party membership.

He was also served a show-cause notice on Oct 14.

General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam announced his expulsion from the ruling party while speaking with reporters after the Working Committee's meeting Friday evening.

He said, "The decision to cancel his primary membership and expel him from party was taken after reviewing Latif Siddique's reply to the show-cause notice."

The Awami League spokesperson said Siddique would not be able to appeal against this decision.

Asked what would happen to his Parliament membership, Syed Ashraf said, "We will notify the EC about his expulsion from the party."

However, Chief Whip ASM Feroz earlier had said that Siddique would be able to stay on as MP even if he lost party membership because he did not ‘cross the floor’.

The 77-year old senior politician put everything on the line when he decried the Hajj and Tabligh Jamaat as 'useless activity’ at a programme in New York on Sept 28, sparking a furore across Bangladesh.

Since then, over two dozen cases have been lodged against him for hurting religious sentiments and different courts of the country issued arrest warrants.

Several Islamist organisations have also called for a general strike demanding his immediate arrest.

Regarding the four-time Tangail-4 MP's remarks in New York, the party's show-cause notice had said that he had hurt religious sentiments and clearly violated the party's ideology and constitution.

Latif later sent his reply from Kolkata, where he is staying now, but it did not help.

Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on Oct 3 had made it clear that Siddique will not be in her Cabinet.

"He (Siddique) will have to pay for his own doing," she had said.

The prime minister also presided over the Central Working Committee meeting Friday that finalised the decision to rusticate Siddique from the party for good.

Siddique is known as an outspoken politician, and his snide remarks have brought him much controversy over the years.

He was in charge of the textiles and jute ministry in the Awami League’s 2009-13 term.

Another member of the influential Siddique family of Tangail, Abdul Kader Siddiqui had left the Awami League over two decades ago. And now his elder brother got himself expelled.

Latif Siddique had drawn broad condemnation after saying he was against Hajj and Tablig Jamaat along with Jamaat-e-Islami.

A video clip of him talking at the Sept 28 New York event spread over the internet kicking up a storm, but the remarks about the Hajj 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.