Dhaka: Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq who have been convicted of contempt of court should resign from their posts,  says BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed.

‘The two ministers should quit from the cabinet and parliament without delay for maintaining the honour and image of the Supreme Court,’ said BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed at a press briefing at the party’s central office in Dhaka.

He also demanded cancellation of all the orders signed by the two ministers after the pronouncement of the Supreme Court verdict on 27 March. ‘If it’s not done, it’ll have a far-reaching negative impact on the democratic system,’ he added.

Moudud further said it is not only a matter of law but a matter of ethics and their resignation will boost their image in society.

On 27 March, the Supreme Court fined ministers Qamrul Islam and AKM Mozammel Huq Tk 50,000 each for their controversial comments about Chief Justice SK Sinha in connection with the war crimes case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali.

On 14 March, ministers Qamrul Islam and Mozammel Huq offered unconditional apology to the court for their remarks.

The Supreme Court on 8 March summoned the duo to appear before it on 15 March for their reactions to the remarks of Chief Justice SK Sinha about the prosecution as regards the trial of Mir Quasem Ali in a war crimes case.

Qamrul and Mozammel had demanded resignation of the Chief Justice for his reported remarks that ‘the prosecution is doing politics with the trial of condemned war criminal Mir Quasem Ali’.

They made the demand at a roundtable discussion organised by Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee in the city on 5 March.