No 'careless' comments on president, PM, chief justice

Law Minister Anisul Huq yesterday urged everyone to be careful while making comments over constitutional posts like that of the president, the prime minister and the chief justice.

He also said they would face the 16th constitutional amendment case verdict legally.

“The posts of president, prime minister, speaker and chief justice are constitutional posts. These posts are of great importance. It won't be right to make careless comments on them,” he told journalists while addressing a mourning day rally near the Awami League office in Brahmanbaria's Akhaura.

Passed in 2014, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution had restored parliament's powers to remove SC judges for misconduct or incapacity.

Last year, the High Court declared the amendment illegal and the decision was upheld by the SC on July 3 this year. The apex court released the full verdict on Aug 1.

Since then, several AL leaders have been criticising the verdict and Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha over some observations made in it.

Food Minister Qamrul Islam even demanded the CJ's removal. Some other AL leaders called for expunging the observations.

 The BNP, however, welcomed the verdict.

Anisul said, “We don't care what the BNP thinks about the verdict. We don't believe that those who break law frequently are respectful to it.”

He claimed it was mentioned in the 16th amendment case verdict that Ziaur Rahman and HM Ershad had turned the country into a “Banana Republic”.

On the fugitive killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he said, “The prime minister is firmly committed to executing the verdict [in the case] after bringing the killers back to the country. Efforts are underway to bring them back.”

Speaking at another programme in Brahmanbaria's Kasba yesterday, the minister said the government was trying to formulate a law to confiscate the properties of the killers.