News Analysis No to Resignation Speaker crossed his jurisdiction

DHAKA NEWS

Speaker Abdul Hamid has overstepped his jurisdiction having declined to "accept" the resignation of Awami League lawmaker Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj from the Jatiya Sangsad.

In his effort to justify the decision, the Speaker said Sohel Taj, now in the US, did not write the letter in his own hand, rather it was typed. Moreover, he did not submit it in person and the letter did not mention the phrase "willing to resign," which is mandatory under article 67 of the constitution.

Sohel Taj's resignation letter, in Hamid's view, was not written in line with constitutional provisions and the Rules of Procedure of the House. "Therefore, I did not accept his resignation letter," he told reporters on Wednesday.

Former attorney general Mahmudul Islam in his book titled "Constitutional Law of Bangladesh" writes that the article 67 (2) of the constitution provides an MP with unilateral right to resign from his seat. Effectiveness of such resignation does not depend on its acceptance by any authority, Mahmudul writes, citing court orders in Bangladesh and India.

According to a 1995 High Court judgment, the constitution does not have any provision authorising the Speaker to accept or reject an MP's resignation letter.

On submitting the letter in person, the HC said "the letter need not be written by the lawmaker concerned; it is sufficient if it is signed by him or her."

The HC gave the judgment in response to a writ petition filed after 147 opposition lawmakers resigned en masse from the Fifth Parliament on December 28, 1994.

The then Speaker Sheikh Razzak Ali had declined to accept those and told the House that the en masse resignation in his view was not in accordance with the article 67 (2) of the country's charter.

Speaker Abdul Hamid himself was one of the 147 MPs.

Talking to journalists at his JS office on Wednesday, Hamid cited his predecessor's decision. But he might have forgotten to cite the HC judgment on the issue.

Sections 177 and 178 of the Rules of Procedure of the Jatiya Sangsad empower the Speaker to verify the authenticity of the resignation letter and ascertain the intention of the resigning parliamentarian.

The 1995 HC verdict says the Speaker can easily determine the genuineness of the signature by comparing it

with the signature of the MP in the Roll of Members in the Parliament Secretariat.

It further observes that in case of allegations of fraud or coercion applied to the MP in obtaining his signature, the Speaker is also to examine the voluntariness of the signature in the letter of resignation to ascertain the intention of the MP for quitting.

Abdul Hamid did ascertain the intent of Sohel -- he talked to him over the phone lately. The Speaker himself said Sohel wanted to know when his resignation would come into effect. He did not have any confusion about the authenticity of Sohel's signature on the letter.

Theoretically, the Speaker should not have any doubt as to why Sohel resigned form the JS. Yet, he said he had.

The Speaker's delayed rejection has already led to the public perception that his office might have acted in conformity with the prime minister's stance on Sohel's resignation from the council of ministers.

A few days after Sohel resigned from the JS on April 23, some newspapers citing government sources ran reports that his resignation as MP might be kept hanging as was his resignation from the home ministry.

He was made a state minister without portfolio after his resignation on May 31, 2009 as the PM did not "accept" his resignation.

The media reports were then proved right when the Speaker on Wednesday made known his decision declining to "accept" Sohel's resignation.

In the process, Hamid's confusion has dragged the Speaker's office into controversy. This will in no way uphold the dignity of the office of the Speaker. Rather the hullabaloo may be damaging for the office.