Protests in NY, Ctg against Latif Siddique
Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Abdul Latif Siddique’s comments on hajj, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Tablighi Jamaat and expatiate Bangladeshis in New York have sparked protests here and in the United States, reports Bangla daily Prothom Alo.
The minister, who is in NY as part of the PM's entourage, made the comments at a programme in Jackson Heights on Sunday.
The local unit of BNP staged a demonstration in protest against Siddique's comments, according to the Prothom Alo.
"Minister Latif Siddique came to the US on Bangladeshi people's money," Gias Ahmed, a BNP activist, told the daily. "He has hurt the religious sentiment of the people."
Another activist Zillur Rahman demanded for the minister’s exemplary punishment for what he said outrageous comments against talk show participants and journalists.
Sahabuddin Ahmed, a follower of Tablighi Jamaat living in New York, told the daily that his community was surprised at the minister’s comment.
Meanwhile, Awami League supporters in the US were also against the minister for the part of his speech that involved the prime minister's son Joy.
An activist, Kazi Kayes, told the daily that AL views Joy as a future pioneer. "Such comments of the minister hurt the activists."
WHAT THE MINISTER SAID
At a programme organised by AL Tangail unit in the US, the minister said he was against hajj and Tablighi Jamaat more than he detested the Jamaat-e-Islami.
"Hajj is waste of manpower," he said. "Those who perform hajj do not have any productivity. They deduct from the economy, spend a lot of money abroad."
Those in Tablighi Jamaat do not have anything else to do but block roads during a rally, he said.
Regarding PM's son Joy, the minister said: "Who is Joy?"
Latif Siddique also slammed a journalist on the spot for "asking too many questions". "You are invited here, act like a guest and sit quiet."
REACTION AT HOME
Awami League acting chief Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury also came down hard on Latif Siddique. She urged all to turn a deaf ear to what Latif said, Prothom Alo reports.
"You all know who Wazed is, who our grandchild Joy is. There is nothing there to question," she told reporters this afternoon at the party's Dhanmondi office.
Meanwhile, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, a Chittagong-based Islamist group, brought out a procession and formed a human chain in protest against Latif's statement on hajj.
Mosaheb Uddin Bokhtiar, member secretary of the group, demanded immediate arrest of the minister for such "irresponsible comments".
In another development, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in a press statement today demanded unseating of Siddique for his indecorous remarks over hajj and Tablighi Jamaat.
In the statement signed by the party’s office secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Fakhrul said Siddique has hurt the religious sentiment of lakhs of people across the world.
Expressing his strong condemnation, Fakhrul said Siddique’s remarks are totally distressful and violation of the religious norms.
Condemning Siddique's comments, HM Ershad, chairman of Jatiya Party and a special envoy to the PM, he also demanded immediate arrest and exemplary punishment to the minister.
He accused the minister of violating the constitution and hurting the religious sentiments of the people with his comments hurting Islam.
"No-one, even no follower of other religions, ever made such distasteful comments about hajj, one of four pillars of Islam," Ershad said in a statement today.
Comments