Former Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Minister Abdul Latif Siddique has appeared before the High Court (HC) in a bid to seek bail in different cases filed against him. Latif Siddique went to the HC at around 10:30am on Monday. Earlier on Sunday night, Latif Siddique returned home. He arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal nternational by a flight of Indian Airlines at around 8:40pm. Latif Siddique returned home with several arrest warrants and dozens of cases against him. Abdul Latif Siddique was expelled from the cabinet and his own party Awami League for his derogatory comments against hajj, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina`s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Tablighi Jamaat and expatiate Bangladeshis in New York. At a program organised by Awami League Tangail unit in the USA on September 28, Latif Siddique, who was in New York as part of the PM`s entourage in the 69th United Nations General Assembly, 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. A video clip of him talking spread over the internet kicking up a storm, but the remarks about the hajj in particular touched some raw nerves. – risingbd.com
