UNB, Dhaka :BNP senior leader Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman on Friday demanded a judicial investigation to find out whether minister Abdul Latif Siddique made the anti-Islamic comments at anybody’s instigation.”Latif Siddique will be dropped from the cabinet. We’ve heard he’ll also be removed from the party. I think a judicial probe body must be formed to unearth at whose instigation the minister made the offensive remarks,” he said.Mahbub, also a BNP standing committee member, made the remarks at a discussion at the Jatiya Press arranged by Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Nagarik Dal.On September 28, Latif Siddique at a reception in New York arranged by expatriates from Tangail said he is deadly against hajj and Tablig Jamaat.The BNP leader said Latif Siddique seriously hurt the religious sentiment of Muslims by making anti-Islamic comments.”Today (Friday) is the holy hajj, which is one of the five basic pillars of Islam. The way the minister made derogatory remarks about it, he should be given tougher punishment,” he said.Mahbub said, removing Latif from the cabinet is not enough as he should be given death sentence as per the law of the land for such an offence.About the current parliament, he accused the government of obliterating democracy by forming the 10th parliament without people’ s mandate through a ‘farcical’ election.Mahbub called upon the government to hold a fresh inclusive election immediately to restore peace and democracy in the country. He also called upon people from all walks of life to take part in the BNP-led 20-party’s movement to force the government to quit and arrange a fresh election.
