Abdul Latif Siddique Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has decided to sack one of her senior cabinet colleagues, Abdul Latif Siddique, for making a plethora of derogatory remarks on the prophet (pbuh), hajj and Tablig Jamaat. PMO sources said the premier, who is now in London after attending the 69th UNGA in New York, made the decision as Latif’s statement angered various quarters at home and abroad. The latest comments of the posts and telecommunications and information technology minister have irked Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party and other Islamist groups deeply. The premier, who is scheduled to return on October 2, conveyed her decision to the cabinet division. AL insiders said Siddique may be expelled from the party as the PM was briefed in details over Latif’s comments and subsequent protests all over. Hasina’s decision came hours after a video of the Latif’s view-exchange meeting with expatriates from Tangail in New York stirred social networks because of his harsh comments, sparking a storm of protests. He said, “During hajj, huge manpower is wasted. Over 20 lakh people have gone to Saudi Arabia to perform hajj. They have no work, no production and they only cause deduction.” “Some 20 lakh Tablig Jamaat people get together annually who don’t do any work except halting traffic movement…,” the minister noted. About Joy, Latif said, “Who is Joy? He is nobody of the Bangladesh government. He can give advice but it is the government that will make decisions.” In a strong reaction, AL acting president Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury on Tuesday termed Latif a trash talker and urged all not to pay heed to his filthy words. “Don’t pay any heed to what he (Latif) said. There are some talkative leaders and this is possible for them to deliver such words… I think you won’t accept what he (Latif) said,” Sajeda, also deputy leader of the House, said while briefing reporters after a meeting of AL subcommittee on publicity and publication at the party president’s Dhanmondi office. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said making such remarks [of a minister] from a responsible position was unexpected. “The attention of the premier has been drawn over the statement of the minister. Both the government and the party will take measures after her return,” he told reporters at Savar, a city suburb. Quader said the statement about Joy was not correct. “Joy has been in the government as he is an Information technology adviser to the premier and also the future leader of Awami League.” Condemning Latif’s comments, JP Chairman HM Ershad, also a special envoy to the premier, demanded immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the minister while his deputy Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu demanded cancellation of his membership of parliament. Ershad accused the minister of violating the constitution and hurting the religious sentiments of the people with his comments hurting Islam. “Nobody, even no followers of other religions, ever made such distasteful comments about hajj, one of the four pillars of Islam.” BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also condemned Latif’s derogatory remarks, saying that only an extreme violator of the limit can make such comments against Mohammad (pbuh). “This minister always crosses the limits of decency,” he said, adding that a person cannot make such unguarded remarks unless he or she is mentally retarded or imbalanced. “The derogatory remarks on Prophet Muhammad (SM), hajj, Makkah and Tablig Jamaat by Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Abdul Latif Siddique have hurt the religious sentiment of the Muslim world, including Bangladesh,” he said in a written statement. The spokesperson for BNP demanded Latif’s removal from cabinet immediately. In another statement, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh president AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury also condemned Latif’s unguarded remarks and urged the PM to take action against her minister. The former president said he was stunned and disheartened by Latif’s comments against Allah, Mohammad (pbuh) and hajj. Asking the minister to seek penance for his comments, Hefazat-e-Islam at a briefing urged the government to sack him immediately. In a written statement, Nur Hossain Quashemi said, “The minister neglected the Prophet (SM), hajj and Tablig Jamaat. He is a murtad [unbeliever] and must be arrested immediately and has to be awarded exemplary punishment.” He demanded the government formulate a law keeping a provision of capital punishment for making derogatory comments on the Prophet (SM) and Islam. Demanding Latif’s arrest, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, a Chittagong-based Islamist group, led a procession and formed a human chain in protest against his statement on hajj. Islamic Research Centre Bangladesh in a statement termed Latif a ‘murtad’. “The individual who can make derogatory remarks on the prophet (SM), hajj and Tablig Jamaat is the worst murtad,” Fakihul Millat Mufti Abdur Rahman said in a statement sent from Saudi Arabia. “Such remarks on hajj, one of the five basic religious pillars of Islam, have hurt sentiments of millions of Muslims across the globe,” said Rahman, also chairman of Qaumi madrasa education board. He lauded the government for doing a good job by axing the minister. Out staff correspondent from Chittagong reports: Ahle Sunnat Wal Jama’t leaders on Tuesday demanded removal of Telecommunications Minister Latif Siddique from the cabinet and his arrest for making derogatory comments on hajj. Making such comments on hajj is an unpardonable act, said Ahle Sunnat Wal Jama’at, a religious organisation of Chittagong. At a press conference held at Chittagong Press Club on Tuesday, the Ahle Sunnat leaders urged the government to take initiative to remove Latif Siddique by Friday. They also threatened to launch a tougher movement across the country, if their demand goes unheeded.
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