The parliament membership of former minister Abdul Latif Siddique has been declared vacant following his resignation.
Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury made the announcement yesterday, two days after he stepped down as a lawmaker.
While tendering his resignation on Tuesday, Latif told the Jatiya Sangsad that he was doing this as per the wishes of his leader.
In September last year, the now-former Tangail MP and then telecom minister Latif faced severe criticism after making derogatory remarks about hajj and tabligh jamaat at a programme in the USA.
A number of cases were filed against him on charges of hurting religious sentiment, while he had to stay nine months behind bars in several of those cases. He was also expelled from the Awami League and the cabinet.