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Ministers make fun of resignation

Staff Correspondent
The letters that the ministers have submitted to the prime minister are meant for their resignation, not just for expressing their intent to step down as claimed by Law Minister Shafique Ahmed yesterday.
The last sentence of a minister's letter of resignation read, "Therefore, please consider accepting my resignation." The letter mentioned that it was submitted to facilitate the formation of an all-party election-time government.
A minister shared the information with The Daily Star, asking not to be named.
The letters handed over to the PM on different dates were almost identical, a cabinet member told this correspondent on
condition of anonymity.
There have been confusion and controversy, as all 52 ministers continue to discharge duties and enjoy state facilities despite tendering resignation to the PM by Monday.
The law minister termed the submission of resignation letters a formality, and said the ministers expressed in the letters their intent to resign.
"There is no need for submission of fresh letter to the president. The resignation letters will take effect once those are submitted to the president," Shafique told reporters at the secretariat.
He said no further consultation was required to send the letters to the president.
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"The PM can ask her colleagues for consent."
Meanwhile, in efforts to dispel the controversy over the resignation, some ministers told reporters that the mention of the word "intent" in the letters was a mere courtesy.
Those were submitted definitely for their resignation, and the ministers would not turn in fresh resignation letters, they said.
Speaking to reporters at his secretariat office, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said, "The prime minister will keep the resignation letters of some ministers for their inclusion in her future cabinet. The remaining letters will be sent to the president,"
Minister without portfolio Suranjit Sengupta and Food Minister Abdur Razzaque also echoed Inu's views.
Inu, however, contradicted Shafique on whether the ministers followed the constitutional provisions in tendering resignation.
Inu said the constitution was followed to the letter in submitting the resignation letters, while Shafique said none of the ministers
turned in resignation letters following the constitution.
Referring to section 58(1) (a) of the constitution, Shafique said, "If a minister hands over resignation letter to the prime minister for forwarding to the president, only then it will be considered as resignation. But none of the ministers did so."
The ministers still hold their posts and there is no bar for them to enjoying all facilities or discharging duties, hesaid.
Asked whether the ministers bluffed the nation by submitting the letters, he said, "No ... Not at all."
Contradicting Shafique, the information minister said the ministers handed over their resignation letters to the PM in line with the constitution.
He said the post of a minister falls vacant once his or her resignation letter is placed before the president.
"The prime minister will keep the resignation letters of some ministers for their inclusion in the all-party cabinet and the rest will be sent to
the president," Inusaid.
Following a cabinet meeting on Monday, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said, "If the PM does not accept the resignation of any minister, he or she will continue holding the portfolio. The other resignation letters will be sent to the president for the next course of action. The whole process will be completed soon."
The government announcement that the PM will decide on the ministers' resignations sparked a controversy, as the constitution leaves no room for the PM to do anything about a minister's resignation once it is submitted, say some legal experts.
The office of a minister other than the PM shall fall vacant if he resigns from office by handing over resignation letter to the PM for submission to the president, according to article 58(1) (a) of the constitution.
The ministers have resigned to pave the way for the prime minister to form an all-party government to oversee the next parliamentary' election supposed to be held by January.