Latif Siddique’s remarks unrelated to govt, alliance, says Inu

Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu has said that the government or the ruling Awami League or the alliance it leads is not responsible for Abdul Latif Siddique’s tirade against Hajj.

Siddique’s remarks against the biggest congregation of Muslims were his personal opinion and he alone is responsible for them, Inu said in a statement issued over the phone from Mecca’s Mina in Saudi Arabia.

Inu, also the chief of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSaD), is currently in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj.

The ministry on Friday sent his statement to the media in a press release.

He said the government does not support statements that hurt religious sentiments and are against Islam or any other religion.

“The prime minister has already decided to remove Latif Siddique from not only his ministerial post in the Cabinet, but also from both party and alliance leadership for hurting religious sentiments,” Inu said in the statement.

He said that there should be no confusion as ‘the decision on Siddique was taken at the highest quarters of the government’.

Siddique, who has been at the helm of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, drew widespread condemnation after rubbishing the practice of Hajj and Tablig Jamaat at a programme in New York on Sept 27.

A video clip of him making that statement kicked up a storm as it went viral on the internet and touched a few raw nerves within his party and outside.

Not the least because a whole lot of Awami League ministers and senior bureaucrats are performing Hajj at present.

“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.

Since then, over two dozen cases have been filed against the senior Awami League leader at different courts in several districts of Bangladesh, accusing him of hurting religious sentiments.

The BNP and many Islamic organisations have demanded Siddique's immediate arrest. The BNP also asked the government to punish him under the law.

Even Awami League ally, Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad called for his arrest.

Hifazat-e Islam called for his death while Jamaat-e-Islami went low key demanding an unconditional apology.

Some Islamic organisations had also threatened a nationwide general strike if no action is taken against Siddique.