'President lied about Hasina's resignation letter': Interim govt agrees with Asif Nazrul
The interim government has concurred with Adviser Asif Nazrul's statement that President Mohammed Shahabuddin lied about not getting the resignation letter of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The government also agrees that by lying about the letter, the president has violated his oath, Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Apurba Jahangir said at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy today (22 October).
Law, Justice and Parliament Adviser Asif Nazrul yesterday said, "The president's statement that he did not receive Sheikh Hasina's resignation letter is a lie, and it is a violation of his oath."
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Replying to a question about whether it is Asif Nazrul's personal opinion, or the opinion of the entire advisory council including the chief adviser, "The government agrees with what the law adviser said.''
Earlier, President Mohammad Shahahuddin said he has no documentary proof of the resignation of ousted Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who hastily fled and took refuge in India in the face of a student-people uprising on 5 August.
"I have heard that she has resigned. However, I do not have any documentary proof. Despite trying hard, I couldn't obtain it," he told Manab Zamin Chief Editor Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, who met the president to learn about the resignation letter.
"Perhaps she didn't get the time," said Shahabuddin, as per a write-up on the conversation published in Manab Zamin's political magazine "Janatar Chokh" on 20 October.
Adviser Asif, later on, said, "Because, he [president] himself said in his address to the nation at 11:20pm on 5 August, with three chiefs of armed forces behind him, that the former prime minister submitted her resignation letter to him and he [Shahabuddin] accepted it."
The adviser continued, "After that, in line with Article 106 of the constitution, he [Shahabuddin] gave advisory jurisdiction and consulted the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court to seek guidance on the next steps.
"In view of this, the then chief justice of the Supreme Court and all the other judges together gave an opinion based on the president's reference. The first line of the opinion is, 'In the current situation of the country, since the prime minister has resigned…', then other things. This opinion was signed by all Appellate Division judges, including the then chief justice Obaidul Hasan."
Nazrul further said, "Then the law ministry sent a note to the President's Office based on the Appellate Division's opinion that an interim government can be formed since the prime minister has resigned and the president has dissolved the parliament. He [Shahabuddin] received, accepted and signed this opinion. Then he himself proceeded to form the interim government."
The president repeatedly assured the entire nation through one act after another, including his 5 August speech, that Hasina resigned as the prime minister and he accepted the resignation letter, said Nazrul.
After almost two and a half months, if the president says that the former prime minister did not submit her resignation, then it is a contradiction of his address to the nation and amounts to "misconduct", said the adviser.
"Question can be raised whether you [president] have the mental capacity to serve the duties of president," he added.
If the president sticks to his statement, the advisory council of the interim government will discuss whether he is qualified to remain the president and the next course of action in line with the constitution, he further said.
"The constitution of Bangladesh states that if you [president] do not have physical and mental capacity or if you have committed a serious misconduct, then there is an opportunity to take measures on whether you can remain president or not," the adviser said.
