Shafique, Inu give contradictory views
Amid controversy over the effectiveness of resignation by cabinet members, law and information ministers on Tuesday gave contradictory views on the issue.
Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu on Tuesday said they have submitted their resignation letters as per constitution but Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shafique Ahmed gave a completely different opinion. The law minister said that the letters were not handed over to the Prime Minister as per the constitution.
“In fact, they aren’t resignation letters. We have completed formalities to form an all-party election-time government to assist the prime minister. The resignations will come into effect only after they are sent to the president and he, on the advice of the prime minister, accepts them,” Shafique told reporters at the secretariat while he was explaining the legality of their continuation in office even after submitting resignation letters to the prime minister.
“The posts of the ministers will not fall vacant, rather they can enjoy full privileges,” he added.
The minister said as per Section 58 of the Constitution, if any minister tenders his/her resignation to the Prime Minister for forwarding it to the President, his/her post becomes vacant. But in this case, the resignation letters were not submitted for being forwarded to the President. So, Section 58(1)(Ka) is not applicable.
The minister said the resignations must be submitted mentioning that they should be forwarded to the President. It is necessary to mention the date of signing of the letters. Nothing of the sort happened in this case. The Prime Minister would need to have further consultations with the ministers before the resignations are forwarded to the President, he added.
When asked about the constitutional provision that “the post of a minister will become vacant if the Prime Minister requests him to resign”, the minister explained: “The minister will have to submit the resignation for being placed before the President.” The Prime Minister would have to consult with the minister before submitting it to the President. She will consult with them about their consent for sending the resignations to the President, the law minister further said.
“If we want to apply Section 58 of the Constitution, the letters must be addressed to the President and be forwarded to the constitutional head.”
Rejecting the view that the Prime Minister had asked the ministers to resign, the law minister said: “None of the ministers has tendered their resignation following any direction of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister did not give any directions for submitting the resignations.”
He dismissed the cabinet secretary’s statement that “Monday’s cabinet meeting would be its last meeting under the present format of the government”. Ahmed said: “I have not heard anything like this. The Prime Minister told the ministers that the cabinet may meet again, if necessary. I think there is no further confusion.”
On the other hand when asked to comment on the issue of the effectiveness of the resignation by the ministers, Information minister and JSD president Hasanul Huq Inu said they had submitted their resignation abiding by the constitutional provisions.
“But this resignation would not be effective until it would be forwarded to the president and he would give his consent to it,” he pointed out.
-With The Independent input
