The law enforcers cannot arrest any lawmaker without the permission of the speaker of the parliament, State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said.
The minister said this while addressing a press briefing at his office on Monday regarding Abdul Latif Siddique, the former post, telecommunications and ICT minister.
“The permission of the speaker of the parliament is needed by the law to arrest any member of the parliament,” Kamal said.
As the parliamentary session is going on, the law enforcers will not arrest Latif as per the law, he also added.
However, he ensured that while the permission was given, the law enforcers will take proper action towards those warrants issued against Latif by the courts.
The former telecom minister Latif Siddique returned home by an Air India flight on Sunday night. A total of four arrest warrants were so far issued by different Dhaka courts against Latif Siddique for hurting the countrymen’s religious sentiment by making controversial remarks on Hajj and Tablig.
Hefazat-e Islam has threatened to observe a countrywide daylong shutdown if former minister Latif is not arrested by Wednesday. The Chittagong-based Islamist outfit will stage demonstrations across the country on Tuesday.
Another organisation ‘Islami Andolan Bangladesh' issued an ultimatum on Monday, demanding the arrest of former minister Siddique accused of hurting religious sentiments.
On September 28, during a programme in the USA, Latif made derogatory comments on Hajj, Ijtema and PM’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Due to his derogatory comments, he was later dropped from the cabinet and the Awami League.