bdnews24.com :Election Commission (EC) will hear from former minister Abdul Latif Siddique and Awami League’s General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam to decide whether the former could continue as an MP.Officials at the commission’s law wing said they would be asked to attend hearings on Aug 23.Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad set the date in consultation with other commissioners on Thursday.Election Commissioner Md Shah Nawaz told bdnews24.com, “Election Commission will send letters to both asking them to be present at the commission in time.”The commission took written statements from Islam and Siddique after the Awami League sent a letter to the speaker to scrap parliament membership of Siddique, who has been expelled from the party.On Aug 2, Syed Ashraf wrote to the EC explaining the party’s position on cancelling Larif Siddique’s MP status.Claiming his party made a ‘mistake’, Siddique urged the EC to let the speaker decide on scrapping his parliament membership instead of deciding it themselves.However, EC officials said they would take the final decision on the matter after hearing from Syed Ashraf and Siddique on Aug 23.It would then request the Speaker to act on its decision.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina removed Siddique from the Cabinet in the wake of demands from various quarters, who were furious over his comments on Hajj at a programme in New York last September.The party also scrapped his membership.On his return, the Tangail MP spent nine months in prison in cases filed over his comments.He came out of jail recently on bail.
