A Chittagong court summoned Awami League leader and Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Abdul Latif Siddique on November 23 over a case filed yesterday centring his recent comment on Hajj and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Abdul Halim Khan, the party's Chittagong cityWard 12 unit joint secretary, filed the case with the court of Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate Farid Alam.

Latif told a gathering of Tangail expatriates in New

York on September 28 that he deplored Hajj and Tabligh Jamaat (a movement to spread and preach Islamic values) more than he hated Jamaat-e-Islami.

Latif, who was on the delegation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent visit to the United States, 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 (PBUH) 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.