Latif Siddique to resign as member of parliament

Sacked minister Abdul Latif Siddique has declared to resign from his parliamentary post.

He made the announcement after attending the hearing of Election Commission (EC) over the legitimacy of his parliament membership on Sunday morning.

"I will resign from my post as my leader [Sheikh Hasina] wants so and there is no controversy over the matter. There is no necessary to hold hearing on this," Latif said.

Also Read: Latif to face EC hearing on JS membership

He said he would send the resignation letter to the speaker.

Awami League lawyers said as Latif Siddique was expelled from his party, the lawyers sent a letter to the speaker about Latif's termination.

After Latif Siddique's decision to step down, the Election Commission adjourned its hearing for two weeks.

Election Commissioner Md Shah Newaz said the commissioner would announce its final decision on the matter in the hearing after two weeks.

Earlier in the day, the High Court order that rejected Latif's petition challenging EC's jurisdiction to carry out the hearing was upheld in the Supreme Court.

The four-member bench headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha passed "no order" on Latif's petition on Sunday morning.

The sacked minister filed the petition on August 20, after the High Court rejected Latif's petition allowing the Election Commission to hear the dispute.

The EC on August 9 fixed August 23 to hear the matter. It sent a notice to the former minister and Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam to be present during the hearing at its Agargaon office.

In September last year, Siddique allegedly made derogatory remarks on Hajj while speaking at a programme in New York.

Also Read: Latif Siddique removed from the cabinet

Following the incident, dozens of cases were filed against him in different courts across Bangladesh.

Later, he was sacked from from the cabinet on October 12 last year. He also lost his Awami League membership following the remarks.