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No place for him in cabinet, party

PM confirms Latif Siddique's removal over hurting religious sentiments; removal to be effective after president's return from hajj

Staff Correspondent
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said Abdul Latif Siddique would be removed from the cabinet and the Awami League for his comments on hajj, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) andTabligh Jamaat.
"Derogatory comments about hajj that hurt the religious sentiment of Muslims will never be tolerated," Mesbah Uddin Ahmed Siraj, AL organising secretary, quoted the PM as saying."He [Latif] will be dropped from the cabinet and all the party posts.”
Hasina made these comments while talking to AL leaders at Sylhet Osmani International Airport on her way to Dhaka from London, after attending the 69th UN General Assembly in the US.
Later at night, when some senior leaders including AL general Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam met her at the Gono Bhaban, Hasina said Latifs
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removal from the cabinet would be effective after the president returned home, accordi ng to one of the party men.
Latif Siddique, the minister for posts and telecommunications and ICT, is also a member of the AL Presidium, the highest policy-making body of the party.
Talking to party leaders in Sylhet, Hasina mentioned that she performed hajj for herself and for her parents and relatives several times.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office earlier told The Daily Star that Latif, now in Mexico, was advised by the PMO not to return home at the moment, to avoid possible unrest by Islamist groups over the comments.
At the Gono Bhaban meeting, Hasina directed Syed Ashraf to call an emergency meeting of the party's central working committee to discuss the issue and the repercussion of his comments.
"We talked about Latif issue," one of the leaders said, adding that the PM instructed them to find out why Latif had attacked religious sentiments of people
Latifs remarks in New York on Sunday triggered widespread criticisms at home and abroad and embarrassed the government and the AL.
At a discussion at Jackson Heights, the minister said: "Hajj is a waste of
manpower. Those who perform hajj do not have any productivity. They deduct from the economy and spend a lot of money abroad."
Speaking about the history of hajj, he said Prophet Muhammad was worried about the people of Arab as they were robbers. The prophet then made an arrangement that his followers meet at a place every year, which will generate income.
A WIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying Hasina landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 10:40am yesterday. Senior AL leaders, ministers, PM's advisers and top civil and military officials received the PM at the airport.
Before arriving in Dhaka, the flight landed at Sylhet Osmani International Airport.
Hasina went to New York on September 22 to attend the UNGA which she addressed on September 27.
Meanwhile, 11 cases were filed against Latif Siddique yesterday for his derogatory comments.
Of them, four were filed in Dhaka, two each in Barisal and Chandpur and one each in Chapainawabganj, Noakhali and Sirajganj, our district correspondents report.
The minister has been summoned to appear before the courts on different dates.