Latif refused US stay, wants to live in \\\'Bengali environment\\\'

Abdul Latif Siddiqui, the politician, axed from the cabinet and from his party, has reportedly been refused permission to stay in the US. Now, the lawmaker elected to the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) five times from Tangail 2 constituency, says he prefers staying in a ‘Bengali environment’. Now in India, Latif Siddiqui has said he wants to stay either in Kolkata or in Shantiniketan to pursue research and study, not in New Delhi. He told senior journalist Sukharanjan Dasgupta, recipient of the Swadhinata Padak, on Sunday he would prefer staying in a ‘Bengali environment’ if he could not return to Bangladesh. ‘I can go back because though I have lost everything, my parliament seat is intact and the Election Commission has not nullified it,’ Dasgupta quoted Siddiqui as saying. Facing furor home and abroad for his anti-religious remarks, the former telecommunications minister said he was not interested in staying out of his motherland for ‘too long’. Dasgupta said it appeared he had been offered a stay in Delhi but Siddiqui, facing widespread criticism and protest even from his own party for his offensive remarks on Hajj and Tabligh Jamaat, preferred Kolkata or Shantiniketan. ‘Ektu porashona korte chai (I would like to study a bit),’ is what he told old friend Dasgupta. About the disparaging comments against the Hajj that stirred widespread protest in his own country, Siddique said: ‘I had spoken from an economic viewpoint, not to hurt religious feelings. I was quoted totally out of context,’ he told the senior Indian journalist, according to a news agency.