Sacked Awami League leader and former minister Abdul Latif Siddique has said he would voluntarily resign as a member of parliament.
“I will resign from my parliamentary post as my leader [Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina] wants so…and there is no controversy over the matter,” Latif told journalists yesterday after an Election Commission hearing over the legitimacy of his parliamentary membership.
“This is my decision. There is no need to hold a hearing on this,” he said.
The former minister said he would send his resignation letter to Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury immediately.
The 15-minute-long hearing was held in the presence of Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, the four commissioners, the EC secretary and the commission’s legal wing secretary at the EC office in the capital.
Following Latif Siddique’s decision to step down, the commission adjourned its hearing for two weeks.
“Mr Siddique has expressed his desire to resign as a member of parliament. However, the Election Commission’s next proceedings will be held in accordance with the law,” CEC Rakibuddin said.
Meanwhile, Awami League lawyers told reporters after the hearing that there are complications surrounding Latif’s resignation as a letter had previously been sent to the speaker after his expulsion from the party.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court upheld a High Court order that rejected a petition by Latif challenging the EC’s jurisdiction to carry out the hearing.
A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha passed a “no order” on the petition filed by the sacked minister on August 20, after the High Court rejected his petition allowing the EC to hear the dispute.
Following his controversial remarks made in September last year on hajj, Tabligh and the premier’s son, dozens of cases were filed against him for hurting religious sentiment. He was sacked from the cabinet on October 12 and also lost his party membership.
