Statements from government officials and ruling party leaders have deepened the confusion surrounding the removal of Post, Telecommunications and IT Minister Abdul Latif Siddique over a speech he delivered in the USA.
On Sunday, addressing a programme organised by immigrant Bangladeshis in New York, the minister said he was against Hajj and Ijtema and that the pilgrimages were wastage of valuable money and manpower.
He also said prime minister’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy was no one to make any important decision of the state.
Siddique went to the USA as part of Hasina’s entourage for the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Yesterday the minister said he would not resign unless the prime minister asked him to do so. Siddiqui was also firm on the remarks that he said were made as a “liberal and modern human being.”
Soon after edited video clips of the speech had been posted on social media, different quarters started lashing out at the minister for his “irresponsible” remarks. A number of political parties including the BNP, Ershad’s Jatiya Party (JaPa) and Jamaat-e-Islami lodged loud protests.
The BNP demanded Siddique’s resignation while the ruling Awami League’s ally JaPa said he should be arrested for what he said. Yesterday, Jamaat announced daylong countrywide demonstrations for today.
Amid all kinds of speculation, Bangladeshi media carried a news yesterday evening that the government had decided to remove Siddique.
Seeking anonymity, an official of the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the premier, who was then in London on her way back to Dhaka from New York, had made the decision.
However, the Cabinet Division said they had not got any instruction in this regard as of last evening.
Obaidul Quader, minister for Road Transport and Bridges and a Presidium member of the Awami League, told reporters after a programme in Dhaka yesterday that a decision in this regard would be made after the prime minister returned.
“There is a hint from the prime minister that he will be removed from the cabinet. None in our party has welcomed his comments. It also involves the image of the government. So he will have to shoulder the responsibility [for the remarks], not the government,” BBC Bangla quoted the minister as saying.
Siddique’s speech
The following is a transcript of the speech that the minister delivered at a programme in the USA on Sunday. The programme was organised by immigrant Bangladeshis from Tangail district, Siddique’s home.
A partial video of the speech, apparently recorded on a mobile phone, was uploaded on YouTube by a user named BanglaMedia on September 29, a day after he had delivered the speech.
The minister said: “I am strongly against Hajj and Tabligh Jamaat. I am more against Hajj and Tablilgh Jamaat than I am against Jamaat-e-Islami. Just think how much manpower is wasted. Two million people have gone to Saudi Arabia for Hajj. They do not have any work to do. They do not have any production. They only do deduction. They only eat and spend the country’s money there. How much money is spent if one lakh people go from Bangladesh and spend Tk5 lakh each on an average? Tk500 crore.
“I do not know much mathematics...Mohammad, son of Abdullah, was a very clever and wise person. He saw that the Jazirahtul Arab [the Arabian Peninsula] could not produce any crop; so what will they do for a living? That was why he made an arrangement so that people, especially his followers, would go there and give them something.
“The second is a Jamaat – the Tablighi Jamaat. At least 20 to 25 lakh people gather there [in Tongi near Dhaka for Ijtema]. Not only do they waste their own work hours, they also bring the traffic in the country to a standstill.
“...when we get angry, we often use the word ‘...marani’...Those who talk in the television shows, I call them ‘talkmarani.’ Talk show means talkmarani.”
A journalist asked him about the progress of Sajeeb Wazed Joy’s plans for building a countrywide Wi-Fi network in Bangladesh.
In reply the minister said: “Who is Joy Bhai?”
Then someone reminded him that Joy was actually the PM’s son Sajeeb Wazed. Then he said: “Who is he to do it?…Oh okay! You [the journalist] mean to say that it is his plan. You can also come up with a plan like this. Even Siddiqur Rahman [an organiser of the programme who was sitting right beside the minister] can do that plan. Even she [pointing to a woman] can do that plan.”
When the journalist asked another question, the minister shot back at him hard, saying: “Why do you ask so many questions?…No, no, I will not talk the way you want me to. I will talk the way I want to. If that is good enough for you then fine. If it is not, then I do not have anything to do. I have not called you. Are you from Tangail? Then why have you come here.
If you want to listen then listen quietly...I have not come here to sell myself to a journalist...You may write whatever you want. That will not change anything...I have not misbehaved with you. It is you who misbehaved with me. I am an aged person and you are asking me one question after another.”
Siddiqui will not withdraw comments
The minister in question says he is firm on his stance about Hajj. He told the BBC Bangla yesterday from Mexico that he was aware of the reactions within his party and the demand for his removal from the cabinet.
He brushed aside the possibility of tendering his resignation under pressure, saying: “I will not do anything. I will only follow the directives of the prime minister.”
“There is nothing to repent for. The prime minister has given me some tasks of the state. She may do whatever she likes. Why should she keep me if I have become a burden?”
Shouldering responsibility for his comments, the minister said: “I commented on Hajj as a liberal and modern human being. I only said what I believe. It might hurt some people...they are also expressing their opinions and hurting me.
“I thought I was in a free world [outside Bangladesh] where everyone is like a bird. I did not know that there are many black cats here too.”
Removal procedure
Mohammad Nazrul Islam, acting secretary of the Cabinet Division, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “We have also heard that the decision to remove the minister will be implemented only after the prime minister’s return to Bangladesh from her US and UK visits. We are not expecting anything to happen before her arrival here.”
Regarding the process of removal of a minister, Nazrul said: “The Cabinet Division generally issues a gazette notification if the prime minister approves any summary of removal of any minister or any official of the same level.
“According to the procedure, the prime minister asks the minister to resign from office, if the PM desires removal of any such person. They will have to resign immediately following the instruction of the PM. Otherwise, the premier will ask the Cabinet Division to prepare a summary to remove the person from his office. The gazette will be issued after the PM’s final approval,” he explained.
“In case the minister resigns, the Cabinet Division issues a gazette upon approval of the resignation letter by the PM,” Nazrul said.
According to section 58 of the constitution of Bangladesh: “The Prime Minister may at any time request a minister to resign, and if such minister fails to comply with the request, may advise the president to terminate the appointment of such minister.”
Awami League’s reaction
During a media briefing at the Awami League president’s Dhanmondi office yesterday, Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury said Siddique was a “trash talker” and everyone should turn a deaf ear to what he said.
“Do not pay any attention to what he [Latif] says. There are some talkative leaders and it is possible for them only to say such things...It is their freedom. Remarks by such kind of people has no acceptance. I think you [journalists] will not accept what he said,” she said.
Saying that the people of the country knew very well who Dr Wazed Ali Mia and his son Joy were, the veteran leader said: “There is no controversy surrounding this issue.”
Joint General Secretary Mahbub-Ul-Alam Hanif refused to make any comment as other senior leaders of the party were dealing with the issue.
Other reactions
A number of political and religious organisations had announced protest programmes before the news of the government decision to remove Siddique came in the media. JaPa, religious organisation Islami Andolon Bangladesh and former president Badruddoza Chowdhury’s Bikalpadhara Bangladesh all demanded Siddique’s removal from the cabinet and his arrest.
All these parties had by then announced separate demonstration programmes for today.
Qawmi madrasa-based organisation Hefazat-e-Islam demanded immediate arrest and death sentence for Latif. In a press statement, Hefazat issued a 72-hour ultimatum for the government to remove Siddique and bring him to trial; otherwise, they warned that they would paralyse the country through continuous programmes.
Asked what their position would be since the government had decided to remove Siddique, Nur Hossain Kashemi, convener of the Dhaka city unit, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Our programme was called for pressing home the demand for his arrest and trial. We will not cancel our programme if he is removed from the cabinet.”
JaPa Secretary General Zia Uddin Ahmed Bablu said: “We want him to be arrested and tried. Just removing him from the cabinet will not suffice. So, the programmes we announced will stand.”
Maulana Yunus Ahmad said: “We are yet to get anything official from the government. But we have have postponed our October 3 programme; instead, we will hold demonstrations around the country tomorrow [today].”
Reaction from Tangail
The local chapter of the Awami League in Siddique’s hometown Tangail yesterday announced him unwanted. They also demanded that he be removed from the cabinet and also from the Presidium Council of the party.
Soon after the news came that the government had decided to remove him, a section of the local Awami League brought out a procession in the town and burnt Siddique’s effigy.
