Sohel Taj 'stunned' over rejection
Posted on Thursday, May 10, 2012
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Awami League MP Tanjim Ahmed, also known as Sohel Taj, has expressed his surprise and vented his frustration over speaker Abdul Hamid's rejection of accepting his resignation from parliament.
"I am surprised, stunned. I have talked to the Speaker on more than two occasions after sending the resignation letter and have made it clear that I am resigning consciously and willingly. None has pressured me," Tanjim, who is currently at Maryland, has told bdnews24.com by phone.
"The honourable Speaker assured me that he would let me know about his decision over my resignation. But he did not do that, rather he talked to media," Taj added.
Hamid on Wednesday said his office did not accept Taj's resignation from parliament on technical grounds and that the letter was not properly written and submitted.
The Speaker pointed out that the letter was not accepted as it did not have the words 'willing to resign' in line with the Section 67 of the Constitution.
"One has to write his resignation letter himself. But Sohel Taj's one was typewritten."
"Moreover, the signature and the date were written using two types of ink and they seemed to have been written by different people," he added.
The Gazipur-4 MP's personal aide had handed in the letter to the Speaker's office on Apr 23, nearly three years after the son of Bangladesh's Liberation War-time prime minister, Tajuddin Ahmed, had 'resigned' as a junior minister.
He joined Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's cabinet as the state minister for home on Jan 6, 2009. Only five months into taking of oath, he had resigned on May 31 the same year. After his resignation, the government had said that the president had not accepted the resignation.
Repeating his previous stand, Taj said he had stepped down consciously and willingly as he could not do his duties properly.
He also contradicted the points raised by the Speaker over his submission of the letter and its content.
He said in the 21st century there was no need that one must write everything by his own hand. "Should the President of the United States write down everything by himself?"
The Speaker told reporters on Wednesday that various complexities exist in the resignation letter.
Hamid said if Taj wished to step down he would have to write a letter maintaining rule that he wanted to resign willingly. Hamid said Taj must come to the country and submit the resignation letter to him.
Taj said he had talked to the Speaker over phone on two occasions on Apr 26 and 30. He said he had specifically reminded the Speaker of a High Court rule, which said that if one wishes to resign, he does not necessarily need to be present in person.
He asked why doubts surfaced over his resignation despite his talks with the Speaker.
The son of Bangladesh's first Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed said the government gave him a 'red passport' taking his 'green' one after he was sworn in as a member of the Cabinet. But, he said, he did not want to use the passport on moral basis as he was no more a minister or a lawmaker. However, Taj said it was necessary for him to go to the country to see his mother, who is physically sick.
He said he hoped authorities would return his green passport.
Taj said he would talk to the speaker over the issue again.
