MA Latif, the Awami League lawmaker from Chittagong-11 constituency, has denied the allegation of distorting the image of Bangabandhu brought against him.
He organised a press conference yesterday to clarify his stance over the “misunderstanding” created over the distortion of Bangabandhu’s image.
He also vowed to find out the person behind the image distortion.
“No sane person can do such heinous act. I am personally shocked by the objectionable and undesirable episode which began centering the image of the Father of the Nation,” said he.
Pleading his innocence, Latif said: “A quarter deliberately implicated me in the image distortion. The quarter with an evil motive has tried to create a negative impression about me on the people and political activists.”
Responding to a query, Latif said: “The vested quarter has been trying to harassing me for the last seven years. Now it is my responsibility to find out the person behind the image distortion. I have to reveal his identity and he will not be able to escape arrest.”
Without mentioning anyone’s name, Latif said that the same quarter which earlier launched an assault on him was demanding cancellation of his parliament membership.
“I have been victimised since I am a workaholic person and this is my biggest fault,” Latif went on.
“Although the festoons carried my name where the image of Bangabandhu was distorted, I have no involvement with the heinous act. However, I express my deepest regret and sympathy to the followers of Bangabandhu,” said Latif.
“How can I distort the image of Bangabandhu when I have never published my photo in the festoons and banners? I am a person who always refrains from publicity. I prefer to work for the people without any publicity,” said Latif.
“I came to know about the image distortion from newspapers on February 3. What is my benefit from distorting the image of Bangabandhu?” Latif questioned.
A defamation case was filed against ruling Awami League lawmaker MA Latif for distorting the image of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on banners and festoons.
Saifuddin Ahmed, an activist of Jubo League, filed the case with the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Farid Alam.
Ibrahim Hossain Chowdhury Babul, the plaintiff’s counsel said the case was filed under section 501 and 502 of Penal Code stating that the banners and festoons hung by the lawmaker in the port city defamed Bangabandhu.
“The magistrate took the case into cognizance and asked the police to submit a report after investigation,” said the lawyer.
The images of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were installed on banners and festoons in Chittagong city by ruling Awami League lawmaker MA Latif during the recent visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the port city on January 30.
The billboards showed a photograph of the Father of the Nation. However, the posture, attire and shoes did not match with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
It is alleged that MA Latif MP superimposed just the head of Bangabandhu on the portrait of himself as the body did not resemble that of Bangabandhu.