Resigned or not?

Confusion reigned yesterday over the resignation of Jatiya Party ministers from the “polls-time cabinet” as there were different versions from the party and the government on the issue.
The resignation letters could not be handed over to the prime minister as she denied some JP leaders an appointment, party Chairman HM Ershad told a press conference at his Baridhara residence.
Several JP leaders went to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) yesterday to turn in the resignations, but nobody received those, he added.
“The secretary general of my party [Ruhul Amin Hawlader] is now at the Prime Minister's Office. He tried to hand in the resignations to the principal secretary of the prime minister, but the secretary didn't accept those,” mentioned Ershad.
The JP leaders also approached PM's defence adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique for handing over the resignation letters, but he too refused to accept the letters, said the JP chief.
Ershad and Ruhul Amin Hawlader on Sunday had claimed that the resignation letters were sent to the PMO by post.
However, Hawlader last night said the resignation letters have been submitted to the PMO. “Now it's up to her [prime minister] whether she would accept the resignations or not.”
JP ministers GM Quader, Anisul Islam Mahmud, Rawshan Ershad, Ruhul Amin Hawlader, state ministers Mujibul Haque Chunnu and Salma Islam and PM's adviser Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu did not join the weekly cabinet meeting yesterday.
In an interview with a private television channel, PM's media adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury yesterday said sending resignation letters by post is “not acceptable as it is a violation of the constitution and undermines the dignity of ministerial posts.”
“So they [JP ministers] will have to turn in resignations as mentioned in the constitution,” he added.
POLLS CAN BE DEFERRED
Speaking at the press conference, Ershad said there is a scope for deferring the polls schedule as per the constitution.
He claimed that there was no pressure on him to contest the ensuing parliamentary election.
The JP, he added, would contest the election if it is inclusive. But even if the ruling Awami League offers the JP 200 parliamentary seats, his party will not join the electoral race without the participation of all other parties, insisted the former military ruler.
Ershad also mentioned that he has instructed the party nominees to withdraw their nomination papers by December 13.