BNP lawmaker Md Harunur Rashid has demanded the resignation of State Minister for Religious Affairs Sheikh Md Abdullah for his alleged misleading announcements over the date of Eid-ul Fitr celebration.
"I hope that the religious affairs minister [state minister] will resign over this moon-sighting issue and the National Moon-Sighting Committee will be abolished," he said, taking the floor on point of order in parliament.
The lawmaker questioned what the job of the national moon-sighting committee is, reports UNB.
"The moon is usually sighted in the evening. The moon is supposed to be sighted between 6:30pm and 7pm," he said.
Harun said the state minister came up with the first announcement around 9pm saying the moon was not sighted anywhere in Bangladesh and that Eid would not be celebrated on June 5.
"When we went to bed after offering Tarabi prayers, expecting to perform fasting the next day [on June 5], the second announcement came, around 11pm, that the moon was sighted in Kurigram. Can the moon be sighted at 11pm?" he said.
The BNP MP also demanded incorporation of authentic Bangla meaning of “Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim” in the Constitution.
Harun said there is a campaign that “religion for respective individuals, festival for all” in the country, but Islam does not support this idea.
"Those who carry out such campaigns lack religious knowledge," he added.
"As long as Islam remains the state religion in the Constitution, it is not expected to create any misconception about the fundamental issues of Islam," he said.
Jatiya Party lawmaker Pir Fazlur Rahman also criticised the state minister for religious affairs over the moon-sighting issue.
He said the state minister entertained the people by coming up with two contradictory announcements the night before Eid.
The JaPa lawmaker also demanded a statement from the housing and public works minister in the House under Section 300 of the Rules of Procedure over widespread corruption in Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in purchasing pillow and other household appliances.
