Hasina’s resignation: Debate swirls around president’s remark
Speculations and debate ran rife yesterday over President Mohammed Shahabuddin's remarks on Sheikh Hasina's resignation letter and Law Adviser Asif Nazrul's public dressing-down of the president.
It all began after Manab Zamin Chief Editor Matiur Rahman Chowdhury met the president, and the daily's political magazine "Janatar Chokh" on Sunday ran their conversation.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The article quoted the president as saying that he heard that Hasina had resigned, but he did not have any documentary evidence.
"I tried [to collect the resignation letter] many times but failed. Maybe she did not get the time.
"When things came under control, one day the cabinet secretary came to collect the copy of the resignation letter. I told him that I too am looking for it," the president told Matiur.
In response to the president's claims, the law adviser yesterday said the president's comments in this regard was akin to misconduct and if he stuck to his guns, the government should reconsider his position.
Hours after the adviser's comments, the Bangabhaban in a statement urged everyone to refrain from stirring a debate out of a settled issue and embarrassing the government.
Talking to reporters, the law adviser said, "If you contradict something you have said in front of the whole nation, then that is akin to misconduct. Then the question arises if you have the mental capacity to serve as the president. These questions may arise … you have created the scope for that."
Nazrul was referring to the president's address to the nation on August 5, hours after Hasina fled the country in the face of a mass uprising.
He also termed the president's remarks a lie.
The adviser said if the president stood by his statement, the advisory council of the interim government would discuss whether he was qualified to remain in the position.
Following Hasina's ouster, the president in his address to the nation, said, "You know that prime minister Sheikh Hasina has submitted her resignation letter to the president and I have accepted it."
The law adviser also referred to the opinion sent by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, in response to a request made by the president in accordance with article 106 of the constitution, which gives advisory jurisdiction to the Supreme Court.
The apex court said the prime minister had resigned and that the president had the power to appoint chief adviser and other advisers.
The adviser further stressed that the chief justice and judges of the Appellate Division had signed that opinion, and that the president saw the opinion, received it, and signed it as well.
"We know that the constitution says that if you don't have the physical or mental capacity, or if you commit a serious misconduct, then the constitution provides a scope to take steps about whether you can stay on as the president," he said.
Asked if the government can produce the resignation letter and show it to the public, Nazrul said, "If she resigned, she resigned to the president. It [resignation letter] is supposed to be at the president's office, and according to the constitution of Bangladesh, it cannot be questioned at any court. He [the president] himself said it was handed to him, he received it ... now if he says it's not with him, then what he did with the resignation letter is something you will have to ask him."
According to section 57(a) of the constitution, the prime minister's office shall become vacant if he/she resigns from the office at any time by handing the resignation letter to the president.
The Bangabhaban yesterday provided the document containing the opinion of the apex court that said, "In this current situation of the country, since the prime minister [Sheikh Hasina] has resigned and the president has dissolved the 12th Parliament on August 6, 2024, it was not possible for the president to accept the advice of the prime minister as per article 48(3) of the constitution."
The court said since there was no provision for the formation of an interim government in the constitution, the president could on emergency basis appoint a chief adviser and other advisers to fill the vacuum and carry out the executive work of the state.
Yesterday, Nazrul showed reporters the first line of the same document.
Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman in a televised address to the nation on August 5 said Hasina had resigned, and an interim government would be formed to run the country.
But the confusion began after Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed in an interview with Reuters in the second week of August said, "My mother never officially resigned. She didn't get the time.
"She had planned to make a statement and submit her resignation. But then the protesters started marching towards the prime minister's residence. And there was no time. My mother wasn't even packed. As far as the constitution goes, she is still the prime minister of Bangladesh."
In a Facebook post Hasnat Abdullah, a key coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, yesterday said Sheikh Hasina has been ousted, making her resignation from office unnecessary.
"Hasina has been overthrown; an illegitimate government was removed by the people through a mass uprising. There is no need for a resignation here," he wrote.
Some of the coordinators of the movement on different occasions had demanded the removal of the president who was nominated by the Awami League a few months before the government fell.
According to sources at the Chief Adviser's Office, the chief adviser signed several files yesterday and forwarded those to the Bangabhaban for the president's approval.
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