Abdul Latif Siddiqui Explained

Abdul Latif Siddiqui
Native Name:আব্দুল লতিফ সিদ্দিকী
Native Name Lang:bn
Office:Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology
Term Start:12 January 2014
Term End:30 September 2014
Predecessor:Position Established
Successor:Tarana Halim
Office1:Minister of Textiles and Jute
Term Start1:6 January 2009
Term End1:24 January 2014
Successor1:Emaz Uddin Pramanik
Constituency Mp2:Tangail-4
Parliament2:Bangladesh
Term Start2:10 January 2024
Term End2:6 August 2024
Predecessor2:Hasan Imam Khan
Term Start3:25 January 2009
Term End3:1 September 2015
Predecessor3:Shajahan Siraj
Term Start4:14 July 1996
Term End4:13 July 2001
Predecessor4:Shajahan Siraj
Birth Date:18 December 1937
Birth Place:Tangail District, Bengal Province, British India
Nationality:Bangladeshi
Party:Bangladesh Awami League
Spouse:Laila Siddiqui
Relatives:Abdul Kader Siddique (brother)

Abdul Latif Siddiqui (born on 18 Dec 1937)[1] is a former Bangladesh Awami League politician. He is a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Tangail-4 constituency.[2] [3] He served as the Minister of Textiles and Jute in the second Hasina ministry and Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology in the third Hasina ministry.

Siddiqui is the elder brother of politician Abdul Kader Siddique.[4]

Career

Siddiqui served as a Jatiya Sangsad member from Tangail-4 constituency.[5] He resigned on 1 September 2015.[6] He served as the Jute and Textiles Minister from 2009 to 2013. In January 2014, he was appointed as the Posts and Telecommunications along with Information Communication Technology Minister in the 10th cabinet.[7] [8]

In March 2014, Siddiqui was reported by media to have beaten a PDB engineer with a stick, leaving him severely injured.[9] [10]

In September 2014, Siddiqui was widely criticised for his remarks criticising the Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj, and the Islamic organisation, the Tabligh Jamaat, leading to strong calls for his removal from the cabinet.[11] On 30 September, he was sacked from his ministerial post in the cabinet.[12] [13] He was also expelled from Awami League. On 22 August 2015, he declared to resign from the Jatiya Sangsad membership.[14]

On 17 October 2018, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accused Siddiqui for misusing power and damaging government property under the Penal Code and section 5(2) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 1947. On 20 June 2019, a Bogura court denied his bail and ordered him to be jailed.[15] In July 2020, the Supreme Court upheld a High Court order that stayed for six months the trial proceedings.[16]

In January 2021, a government owned land in Tangail illegally occupied by Siddiqui was recovered. It had the market value of 50 crore taka.[17]

He made a comeback in politics after winning the Tangail-4 constituency in the 2024 Bangladeshi general election as an independent candidate.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Abdul Latif Siddique . BANGLADESH PARLIAMENT.
  2. Web site: List of 7th Parliament Members (Bangla) . . Bangladesh Parliament . bn . 16 November 2016.
  3. Web site: List of 9th Parliament Members. Bangladesh Parliament . bn . 16 November 2016.
  4. News: Kader Siddique's nomination cancelled, his party calls Tangail shutdown for Wednesday. 2018-08-21.
  5. Web site: Latif Siddique bids farewell to elections . bdnews24 . 11 June 2013 . 1 October 2014.
  6. News: Molla . Mohammad Al-Masum . 2 September 2015 . Latif Siddique resigns from Jatiya Sangsad . Dhaka Tribune.
  7. Book: Rahman, Syedur . 2010 . Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh . Scarecrow Press . 347 . 978-0-8108-7453-4.
  8. Web site: Abdul Latif Siddiqui made telecom and ICT minister . telecomnews . 12 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140126030040/http://www.telecomnews.com.bd/english/archives/91 . 26 January 2014 . 1 October 2014.
  9. News: Latif Siddiqui beats PDB engineer . banglanews24 . 29 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141228221347/http://banglanews24.com/en/fullnews/bn/88605.html . 28 December 2014 . 29 September 2014.
  10. News: Minister allegedly beats PDB engineer . bdnews24 . 29 March 2014 . 29 September 2014.
  11. News: I strongly oppose Hajj and Tablig Jamaat: Latif Siddiqui . The Daily Observer . Dhaka . 29 September 2014 . 29 September 2014.
  12. News: Bangladesh minister sacked after criticism of Haj . Arab News . Agence France-Presse . 30 September 2014 . 2 October 2014.
  13. News: Bangladesh 'Hajj critic' AL Siddique is arrested . BBC News . 12 August 2015.
  14. Web site: 2018-12-12 . অবশেষে পদত্যাগের ঘোষণা লতিফ সিদ্দিকীর . 2023-09-01 . Prothomalo . bn.
  15. Web site: 2019-06-20. Latif Siddique sent to jail in graft case. 2020-10-06. The Daily Star. en.
  16. Web site: 2020-07-16. Trial against Latif Siddique in corruption case stayed for 6 months. 2020-10-06. The Daily Star. en.
  17. Web site: লতিফ সিদ্দিকীর দখলে থাকা ৫০ কোটি টাকা মূল্যের সরকারি জমি উদ্ধার . 2023-09-01 . Bangla Tribune . bn. 2021-01-24.