Axe falls on Latif
Sunday, 12 October 2014
Minister for Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technology Abdul Latif Siddiqui has been sacked. The government issued a circular on Sunday removing Latif Siddiqui from the Cabinet. Latif has been widely criticised for his disparaging remarks on Holy Hajj and Tabligh Jamaat which he made while addressing a programme of expatriate Bangladeshis in New York city on September 28. Cabinet Secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan has said 'Abdul Latif Siddiqui has been dropped from the Cabinet and will not henceforth hold any position in government.' Addressing a media briefing at the Secretariat on Sunday, Bhuiyan said: 'A circular on the matter has been issued.' The announcement came after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban in the afternoon. Latif Siddiqui, the five-time Tangail-4 MP said said Holy Hajj and Tabligh Jamaat are 'useless activities', triggering a furor, according to private TV channels.