Awami League made a mistake, says Latif Siddique expelled after Hajj tirade

Former telecoms minister Abdul Latif Siddique, who lost his Cabinet and Awami League membership for his Hajj comments, has claimed his party made a mistake.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 2 August 2015, 10:28 AM
Updated : 2 August 2015, 01:42 PM

He urged the Election Commission on Sunday to let the speaker take the call on scrapping of his parliament seat instead of deciding on it themselves.

In a written response to the commission’s notice, he said the accusations of hurting religious sensitivities brought against him are ‘false’ and ‘baseless’.

“For the sake of discussion, even if I said that, Awami League’s Central Working Committee does not have jurisdiction to cancel my membership.”

The letter to CEC Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad explained, “I gave the speech as a people’s representative. There is no scope to say I gave it as an Awami League member. The decision to throw me out was taken on a misinterpretation.”

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina shunted him out from the Cabinet in the face of demands from quarters, who were furious at his comments on Hajj at a programme in New York last September.

The party also scrapped his membership.

On his return, the Tangail MP spent nine months in prison for cases filed over his comments and recently got out on bail.

On July 5, eight months after his expulsion, Awami League’s letter notifying Parliament of its step reached Speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury. The CEC also wrote to her asking about whether his seat would be vacated.

The commission then wrote to Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam and Latif Siddique about their stance on the matter in line with the law on resolution of disputes involving MPs.

Siddique’s letter, in response to that request, also said the matter of dispute resolution is not applicable for him according to Article 66 (4) of the Constitution which empowers the Election Commission to decide on the matter after hearing.

He also urged the EC on this ground to ask the speaker for a decision instead of holding hearings.

Awami League’s Assistant Secretary ABM Reazul Karim Kawser said Syed Ashraf’s response would be sent to the CEC on Sunday.