Ruling Awami League lawmaker MA Latif has said the allegation of distorting the image of Bangabandhu brought against him was an utter falsehood.
Latif organised a press conference on Saturday 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 the lawmaker of Chittagong 11 constituency.
Pleading his innocence, MA Latif MP 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.
It may be mentioned that the images of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were installed on billboards in Chittagong city by ruling Awami League lawmaker MA Latif during the recent visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the premier port city on January 30 of this year.
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.
After the image of the Father of the Nation went into viral on social networking sites, leaders and activists of the ruling party Awami League and its front organisation have been staging demonstration against the lawmaker.
They demanded exemplary punishment and cancellation of parliament membership of MA Latif for distorting the image of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.