Awami League lawmaker MA Latif yesterday produced the graphic designer of a printing house before the media who admitted to distorting the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Designer Kabir Hossain made the statement during a press briefing, organised by the Awami League MP, at Bangabandhu Conference Hall of the World Trade Centre in the port city.
He claimed that they were in a hurry to complete the task.
Latif also presented Rajib Das, a staff of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), at the event.
The CCCI had assigned Rajib with the task of printing all publications ahead of the inaugural ceremony of the World Trade Centre and a five-day long centenary programme of the CCCI. Latif was the chairman of the organising committee.
During the press conference, both Kabir and Rajib claimed that they were unwittingly involved in the distortion of the image of Bangabandhu.
Recently, festoons showing a photograph of the Father of the Nation were installed in the city by Latif’s supporters during the recent visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on January 30. However, the posture, attire and shoes of the person on the photograph did not match with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It was alleged that Latif had superimposed only the head of Bangabandhu on his portrait.
Kabir said that the image of Bangabandhu was “edited” at his workplace, Haider Printers, of Andorkilla area. He said that he had been given a poor quality photo of Bangabandhu.
“I needed the photo of a person wearing a Mujib coat so that I could enlarge it by as much as 10 feet by 5 feet. Finding no other options available, I sought help of Rajib Das and he provided me with a photo of MA Latif MP wearing a Mujib coat from his mobile phone and asked me if I could use it.
“I did the editing job in good faith. I thought it would be a good quality portrait of Bangabandhu. I had no intention of distorting the portrait of the Father of the Nation,” said Kabir.
“The time given for the work was too short. It is my fault and I had no idea that the matter will become such a big issue. I have made a big mistake. I apologise for committing such a blunder,” he added.
Echoing Kabir, Rajib also admitted to his fault during the press briefing.
Lawmaker Latif in response to a question claimed that the designer had not informed him about using his image. After the matter surfaced last week, a former Jubo League leader, Saifuddin Ahmed, filed a Tk1,000 crore defamation suit against Latif on Thursday. A Chittagong court accepted the case the same day.
Another defamation case lodged on Thursday by former Chhatra League leader Abdur Rahim Zillu was accepted yesterday. The court of Chittagong Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Nurul Alam Nipu also asked the Police Bureau of Investigation to launch a probe into the allegation.
Latif, the lawmaker from Chittagong 11 constituency and a former president of the CCCI, yesterday reiterated that he was not to blame for the contemptible act.
He also withdrew his statement made on Saturday. On that day, he claimed that a certain quarter, which had been harassing him for the past seven years, implicated him deliberately in the matter.
“I had to pay dearly for the image distortion. However, I think that a politician has to accept both brickbats and bouquets,” said the lawmaker.
Responding to the allegation of his Jamaat-e-Islami affiliation, Latif said: “I was never associated directly with any political party from my childhood. It is a bad branding culture the opponents apply failing to face a person politically.”
‘Confessions prove his involvement’
After the distorted image of the Father of the Nation went viral, leaders and activists of the ruling party and its front organisations staged demonstration against the lawmaker. They also demanded exemplary punishment of Latif.
Even yesterday the residents of Chittagong 11 constituency issued an ultimatum to the lawmaker to apologise to the nation within three days for distorting the portrait of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. They formed a human chain under the banner of Shocheton Nagorik Samaj on the Chittagong Press Club premises.
Meanwhile, the activists of Chhatra League and Jubo League claimed that the allegation of distorting Bangabandhu’s image levelled against lawmaker Latif had been proved through the press conference.
From a human chain programme organised in the city’s Agrabad area under the banner of Jagrata Chhatra and Jubo Janata, they demanded that Latif be arrested and tried.
Addressing the event, the speakers said that the confessional statements of the graphics designers made it abundantly clear that the image distortion had been done under the supervision of the lawmaker.
The same platform also staged a demonstration in Alankar area of the port city.