Sagar Biswas :
Debate is going on about the membership of expelled minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui in the parliament although he has already been removed from the cabinet and the party.
Legal experts and veteran politicians are giving opposing statements as the Constitution does not clearly say what would happen to one’s MP status once s/he is expelled from the party they represent in Parliament.
According to Article 70 [1] of the Constitution, “A person elected as a Member of Parliament in an election in which he or she was nominated as a candidate by a political party shall vacate his seat if s/he resigns from that party or votes in Parliament against the party.”
“The Constitution provides in which circumstance an MP can lose his position from the Parliament. But the Constitution does not deal with the issue of anyone’s expulsion from the party,” Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury said clarifying the role of House.
AL’s general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, however, said that Latif’s membership would be cancelled as soon as his primary membership of party goes. “If Latif Siddiqui losses party’s primary membership, he will no longer remains Member of Parliament. In that case there will be a by-election in his seat [Tangail-4],” he said after attending AL Central Working Committee meeting on Sunday.
But AL advisory council member Suranjit Sengupta has given totally opposite observation in this regard. He clearly stated on Monday that Siddiqui would retain his membership of Parliament as an independent member.
“If he does not resign from Parliament willingly, he will be treated as an independent lawmaker,” Sengupta said and added, “Its unfortunate that Siddiqui did not resign!”
Even, Shafiq Ahmed- former law minister- said that Siddiqui would remain an independent member of parliament even though his primary membership of the party is cancelled.
During the last BNP-led four-Party alliance government MP Abu Hena was expelled from the party. But the then Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar ruled that he would remain MP, sources said.
In the ninth parliament, Jaitya Party MP HM Golam Reza continued as MP though he was expelled from the party by the party chairman HM Ershad.
Party sources said the draft of show cause notice for Siddiqui was sent to Ganobahabn on Monday evening for final touch of the party president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The show cause will ask Siddiqui giving seven days time why he would not be expelled from the party permanently [cancellation of primary membership] for making derogatory remarks against Hajj and Prophet Muhammad [PBUH].
It is to be noted that Latif Siddiqui on June 12, 2013 announced in parliament that he would no longer contest any election as he has quit “election politics”.
“This is my last speech in Parliament on budget discussion. I won’t join election politics any more, but I’ll continue my efforts and obey the directives to be given by Sheikh Hasina,” he told the House.
Interestingly, he became an MP again through January 5 voterless engineered election and became a minister in Hasina-led cabinet.
Meanwhile, the expelled minister Latif Siddiqui is now in Kolkata and trying hard to rerun home, sources said.
He arrived at the Indian city on Sunday evening and spent the night at a five-star hotel. But he left for another destination leaving the hotel on Monday morning and went to a private guesthouse in an undisclosed destination.
Siddiqui in an interview with BBC Bangla yesterday said that he would like to stay in India if he is not allowed to return home.
He claimed that the whole statements-given in a homely discussion in New York City– were misinterpreted and widely circulated.
“I want to return Bangladesh. But I’m not sure whether my ‘return’ will create more embarrassment for the government and party. However, I like to stay in India if it is not possible to go home,” he told BBC.
Earlier, in another interview given to Bangladeshi daily newspaper, the former AL leader on Sunday said that he would continue issuing hard statements against the religion.
“I will not step aside from my beliefs. I will be against the religion. I’m ready to accept any punishment whatever given to me for taking such stance,” he said.
It is to be noted that another Bangladeshi national Taslima Nasreen, a feminist author and former physician who has been in exile since 1994, is also staying in Kolkata taking permanent visa.
